


More Than Just A Friend

by gallygaskins



Category: Ugly Betty
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-19
Updated: 2013-10-11
Packaged: 2017-12-27 01:19:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 113,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/972641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gallygaskins/pseuds/gallygaskins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>London called and Betty answered. Despite his last editor's letter in Mode declaring his love for a woman he wanted to follow and seek out, Daniel is yet to make that move. How will a well meant gesture on Christina's part make them want to take a risk that they should've taken a long time ago.</p><p>This is the uncut version from that on Fanfiction.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
  
Tears welled in her eyes as Betty Suarez stared out over the London vista before her, the city slowly waking up now that the sun’s rays were nearly at their highest in the sky. She had to admit it, she did an exceptional job of burying her tattered feelings whilst she was working, it was just so hard having to admit them to herself the rest of the time, as well as to anyone else.  It these times like Sunday mornings when she hated how they’d creep up on her, derailing her and throwing her onto the tracks in front of an oncoming train. All it took was one spark to set it off. “He didn’t even wave me off at the airport!” She wailed, balling her fists at her temples whilst the floodgates opened and gushed another torrent over her already tear stained cheeks.  
  
“Right! That’s it missy, I’m coming over,” Christina McKinney all but shouted from the other side of Betty’s computer screen. “I’ve been meaning to take a wee break from work now that the baby’s only a couple of months away from being grunted onto this God forsaken planet. And it means that Stuart can finally have some male bonding time with William. Give me an hour and I’ll be there, get a bag packed.”  
  
“I can’t go anywhere, I’ve got a magazine to run.”  
  
“You’ve been there over 12 months already and not taken a break, once. And if I know you, you’ll already have a contingency plan in place for if you ever had to get back across the pond to your family. I think it’s about time we turned the keys, punched in the access codes and high-tailed it out of the bat cave for a week. We’ll worry about what to tell Lesley when we get to where we’re going.”  
  
“Which is?” Betty sniffed, calming down a little after her latest upset.  
  
“A spa in the middle of Dartmoor.”  
  
“Where?” The only fact that she could remember about that particular area was about the old Victorian Prison, she hoped they weren’t going there.  
  
“You’ll see. Now get yourself washed up, we haven’t got much time.”

.oOo.

“Where are we going again?” Betty asked wearily from her slumped position against the car window. They’d already been at it for what seemed like days although hours were more precise.  
  
“Dartmoor. Look it’s that great big splodge of green in South Devon, as featured on the map by your feet.” Christina pointed down to the dog eared paperback book that was half wedged under Betty’s seat.  
  
She pulled it out, thumbing through the well-worn pages, looking for the downward thumb of the southwest of  England that Christina was driving hurriedly towards. “There’s lots of coast there too.” She noted with delight, hopefully they’d have a day out at the beach if she could persuade Christina.  
  
“Oh, yes. I forgot your penchant for wanting to feel the sand between your toes and the salty surf over your legs as you paddle.”  
  
“It’s your fault, you shouldn’t have taken me to Brighton.”  
  
“Well, I do know a couple of places down there that are unobtrusive but much more beautiful than Brighton, we can get a picnic together one day and go rock pooling.”  
  
“Rock Pooling?”  
  
“Yes, we’ll go searching for crabs, starfish, clams and limpets. Find old shells that we can make necklaces out of. Maybe get some inspiration for my new summer collection or a topic of conversation for yourself. Even if it only ends up on your blog. Really catch up on what’s going on with both of us, we’ve both been living in the same city for what seems like forever and we’ve hardly talked, Betty. The only times we seem to catch up are a few snatched moments on Skype.”  
  
“Is this one last attempt before the baby arrives?”  
  
“In a manner of speaking, although I really want you to be around more when I have this bairn. After all, Stuart and I would really like you to be a Godparent.”  
  
“Shut up,” Betty beamed, for the first time in over a year she truly had something to smile about. “Really?”  
  
“Of course, who else would do a wonderful job of steering our little lassie right; God knows she’s going to need it with me as her mother.”  
  
“You’re having a girl.” She said quietly, almost to herself; a lone tear escaping its prison with wild abandon as it splashed over the contour of her cheek. “Did I tell you, Hilda’s pregnant too.”  
  
“Is that a hint of jealousy I note?”  
  
“A hint maybe.”  
  
“Betty, in case you didn’t realise, you need a willing sperm donor in order to have a baby. Unless you’re Wilhelmina Slater, of course. Besides what’s the rush? You’re young and you’re a career gal, why on earth would you want to settle down and have a baby?”  
  
“I guess I just feel alone.”  
  
“Oh Betty, you’re definitely not alone. What about your family? Marc and Amanda? Matt even?”  
  
“There all on their own adventures and they’re all miles away. Not like I can take the D train to Queen’s anytime soon. And I don’t even know where Matt is at the moment. He hasn’t updated his blog in a while.”  
  
Pulling the car onto a grass verge, Christina switched off the engine and looked over to her friend. “And what about Daniel?”  
  
“What about Daniel? In case you hadn’t been listening to my little Skype rants recently I haven’t spoken to him since I left New York.”  
  
“You’d become such good friends?”  
  
“Well he obviously didn’t see our relationship in that way, otherwise he would’ve been at my leaving party. Or at the barbeque Papi threw for me. Or even at the airport. But he wasn’t.”  
  
“Maybe he was upset about losing you, did you ever think of that?”  
  
“Why would he be?”  
  
“Well, let’s put it this way, even when you weren’t his assistant doing everything for him, you were still there for him, at any hour, of every day, being you. You’re pretty difficult to replace, Betty Suarez, as an assistant and as a friend.”  
  
“Then why didn’t he come and support me, just once. That’s all I needed.”  
  
“Sometimes it’s too painful to let go.” That did make sense, Daniel Meade had used all the tools in his arsenal to try and keep her in New York; from burning her release form, to offering her a raise, before finally avoiding her for the rest of her time at Mode.  
  
But that was now well in the past, “even so Christina, it was also a little selfish.”  
  
“And we both know he’s not good at playing the grown up.” After spending that last year with him, Betty would definitely beg to differ on that point. The adoring husband, the vulnerable widower, the loyal son and brother.  
  
Christina lent over and placed her hand over Betty’s, “so you have no idea what’s happened to him?”  
  
“None whatsoever.”  
  
“Well, he’s no longer at Mode, that’s for sure. I missed him at London Fashion week last September and in February I caught up with Wilhelmina. Seems she’s been running Mode as Editor in Chief since about the time you skipped out of the US.”  
  
“Daniel’s gone?”  
  
Christina nodded, “gone from Meade too apparently. Wanted to ‘find’ himself so he told her.“ She looked across to Betty, “but I have theory?” As did Claire Meade. Had his mum actually been right with her theory about her son’s behaviour?  
  
 _Not another one._ Betty folded her arms across her chest, “and that is?”  
  
“That he couldn’t stand to be in a place where you wouldn’t be anymore.”  
  
“Don’t be ridiculous.”  
  
“I’m not, but this may be. I also think he’s in love with you.”  
  
“And what makes you think that?”  
  
Christina rolled her eyes, “did you not see his final letter?” Betty shook her head, she’d been far too upset and frankly too busy to keep up to date with Mode magazine. “You should have, there were plenty of references to a female friend in it, albeit somewhat vague, but he ended it by way of suggestion that he was in love with her and he was going to do something about it.”  
  
“If he did then that ship definitely must have sailed.”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“Christina, wouldn’t a man in love find a way to tell me or show me if that were indeed the case, and especially when money is no object for him?”  
  
“Ah, but we’re talking Daniel here, and a changed Daniel at that. No longer the Man-whore. Have you ever tried contacting him since the night of your party?” Betty shook her head, “do you think he’s likely to put his heart on the line when the only thing he got from you was ‘thanks very much for the opportunity but I really have to fly 3500 miles away from you to run my own magazine’? Not quite Sophia Reyes, Betty, but I’d say pretty close?”  
  
Betty was silent, she hadn’t really thought about it like that before. “So you think  _I_  was being selfish?”  
  
“God, no. But I do think that in your haste to get Mode out your life you may have inadvertently lost Daniel as a result too. Ok, so he pertained to love, but if his heart was smashed to pieces by the woman he loved …” Of course, Betty may not have publically announced that she was leaving mode but it was similar to the Sophia debacle and Daniel hadn’t fared well after that. What made her situation with Daniel any different if she had really hurt him by wanting to leave him, even if it was for a better career changing job?  
  
Christina started the engine, “right let’s see if we can get there before the catering staff sign off for the evening, eh?”  
  
Turning her attention back to the ever darkening hedgerows and the faintly lit homes they passed quickly whilst the evening closed in around them, Betty finally realised two things. If Daniel had indeed fallen for her at the time that she’d decided to leave then there was absolutely no way Daniel still considered her a love interest. Because she knew him well enough to know that he would’ve done something about it by now. Which brought her to dilemma number two.  
  
She finally realised why she had never been able to really understand why she was always so angry with Daniel for the way he’d reacted to her leaving and how he’d behaved afterwards. But now she did and it wasn’t a happy thought.  
  
Betty Suarez was totally in love with Daniel Meade.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
Over the past year Daniel had come to love the water but he was definitely glad to be back on dry land. The voyage from France had had its scary moments, especially across one of the widest parts of the English Channel, but the yacht had coped well. Even hardened sailor Alexis had been impressed by the way the yacht had handled the crossing with all that it was being battered with. “That was some ride, hey DJ?” Daniel’s arm snaked across the teens shoulders as the three members of the Meade family walked up the hill towards his home, ‘Blue Lagoon’.  
  
A green faced DJ turned to Alexis, “Maman, we are flying ‘ome aren’t we?”  
  
“Yes, we have to. Unless I can persuade your Uncle Danny here to give us one of those prototypes at a discounted rate?”  
  
“Sorry Alexis, testing starts on Wednesday, and all of the yachts need to be at the University before then. Unless you want to sail one round to Plymouth for me Tuesday, then that was your last jaunt?”  
  
As they piled through the front door and dropped their stuff at the foot of the stairs, Daniel grabbed at the mail and started flicking through the envelopes.  
  
“I think I could manage that,” Alexis said as she took off her deck shoes, padding with bare feet across the cool ceramic tiles of the hallway to the lounge, “as long as you don’t mind looking after DJ for the day.”  
  
“Ok, I’ll get Mike to skip with you then.” Daniel ruffled DJ’s hair, “so it’s just the two of us on Tuesday then, what do you fancy doing?” He walked through to the kitchen, placing the envelopes on the end of the granite worktop of the breakfast counter before setting about making tea for Alexis and himself.  
  
“We could just go to the beach for the day. You could show me ‘ow to pick up girls?” DJ asked, a wolfish grin that was not dissimilar to any Daniel had worn in the past appeared upon DJ’s face.  
  
“I don’t think your mother would approve, not for another couple of years anyway.”  
  
“And not even then; I don’t want my son getting the same reputation as his uncle once had.” Alexis fell silent for a moment taking in her surroundings. “This is very ... homely,” she observed. DJ had already found the games console and was busy choosing something to play.  
  
“I got it for a song, it was half finished, the plastering was all but done but no painting had been started, it still had the original windows and there was no kitchen, bathroom or any heating. Good job I came in last August otherwise I think I would’ve frozen with the winter that followed. Anyway, I started asking around for good workmen and got everything fixed up.”  
  
“But are you sure it’s you?”  
  
“What do you mean, Alexis?” The water was now brewing the tea.  
  
“Well, all the wood and stone in this kitchen for a start. What’s wrong with chrome and white Formica? And floral curtains Danny, not really you are they? Is there something I should know?” Her smile was broad as she winked at him.  
  
“I’m not sure what you’re implying?” Daniel looked perplexed.  
  
“This,” she swung around in the space. “An old blue cottage with white windows, in a very small town and in an extremely rural spot. When you told me you were going to build boats for a living I expected you to be somewhere near to civilisation.”  
  
“Salcombe is one of the wealthiest areas for sailing in the UK, I’d have been stupid to think that I could set up a boatyard just anywhere. Buying into Philippe’s was the wisest decision in the end.”  
  
“Well after looking at the figures, I can’t argue with that. And I’m hoping that my investment will be well looked after too. But you’re a city boy, this doesn’t exactly fit. And when did you start drinking tea?” She took the proffered mug, “is there a girl that I should know about?”  
  
“No.”  
  
“But Danny, this just doesn’t feel right. It’s not you. This is a family home with no family in it.”  
  
“You’re here, you’re family. Mom’s coming across before London Fashion Week and Tyler wants to bring Amanda when I’m up at the Southampton Boat Show.”  
  
“I mean  _your_  family, the kind you would’ve had with Molly, had she lived.”  
  
Daniel’s anger flared momentarily but it passed just as quickly, after all Alexis didn’t mean anything unkind by her remark. “I know. I had hoped there would be someone to share this with by now but I’m still working on that.”  
  
“Anyone I know?”  
  
“Maybe.” Daniel countered, “but if you think I’m telling you anything then you can forget it.”  
  
“Oh Danny, afraid I’ll put a spanner in the works?”  
  
“No, it’s just delicate and I have to pick my moment.”  
  
“I see.” She drained her cup and placed it back on the work surface. “So, how’s Betty?”  
  
“Betty?” What was Alexis’ game? “I have no idea?”  
  
“Have you still not spoken to her?” The look on Daniel’s face gave her her answer. “I can’t believe you; you live in the same country for Pete’s sake. What’s stopping you?”  
  
“I have to find the right moment and London’s not exactly on the doorstep here.”  
  
“The moment passed several weeks after she got here. Mom has all this faith in you and yet I knew it, I told her ...”  
  
“What did you tell her?”  
  
“That you’re an idiot, that you’d let Betty walk out of your life because you’ll never feel that you did anything wrong.”  
  
“I didn’t, I did everything I could to get her to stay and then I let her go.”  
  
“And when will you realise that she needed to go, Daniel. She couldn’t stay at Mode forever, it wasn’t her dream. She also needed the support of her family and most especially the one person she’d always looked to as a friend. You seriously let her down.”  
  
Daniel looked at his shoes, Alexis was right, but when was she ever wrong? “I know,” he whispered.  
  
“You really can be a duffus at times, she was perfect for you. It wouldn’t surprise me if she’s with someone else now. I hear Matt Hartley is in Europe.”  
  
“I know,” he was getting agitated.  
  
Alexis continued, “whilst you sit here picking the perfect moment to approach her and see if maybe you have one small chance of taking her out and making something good happen for once in your life, she’s probably moved back in with Hartley.”  
  
He threw his mug in the sink, the ceramic shattering against the granite, “I know, Alexis. I know. I’m a complete idiot for letting the best thing that happened to me for ages walk away, whilst I turned my back on her.”  
  
“You love her.” It was a statement not a question.  
  
Daniel’s eyes seemingly sparkled as he thought about Betty in the green dress at Hilda’s wedding; a hint of a smile was captured on his lips. “Yes.”  
  
Alexis couldn’t help herself any longer. She moved around the counter and brought him into a hug, “then we have to do something about this, and quickly.”  
  
Daniel pulled back, his blue eyes piercing. “No, I have to do something about this.”  
  
“Then will you please do something already. We all love you but we really could do with you producing a Meade heir, even if it’s just to satisfy Mom’s incessant whining.”  
  
“I’ll try.”  
  
Alexis reached for her purse, “you’ll have to do better than that if you don’t want me to become involved.” She handed him a piece of paper.  
  
“What’s this?”  
  
“It’s her office number duffus. Give her a ring. Tomorrow.”  
  
Daniel watched his sister move into the living room and pick up the other controller, soon both mother and son where engrossed in Call of Duty. That was his cue to leave them to it.  
  
He made his way into his study, turning on the laptop and looking through his emails, nothing of any great importance that he needed to sort out today. Pulling the piece of paper that Alexis had given him from out of his shirt pocket he opened his calendar and input an appointment for the following day; it simply read ‘Call Betty’. Nothing else was needed as he punched the number into his phone.  
  
He sat back in his chair, contemplating what he was going to say.  _Hi Betty, I’m sorry for being such a Jackass and I’m sorry for not saying goodbye, which wasn’t cool. So goodbye, good luck and have a safe flight._  That would do for an opener, the rest he could play by ear. “Here’s to tomorrow, and to us. Speak to you soon Betty and sweet dreams.”  
  
With that his screensaver burst into life, all the photographs of Betty that he had on his laptop whirled in front of him as the slideshow played away. He couldn’t help but smile. “I love you Betty Suarez, I just hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me and at least be my friend. If nothing else.”  
  
Alexis smiled, whilst silently closing the study door. Regardless of whether Daniel wanted her help or not, he was going to get it. She crossed the hall and fumbled around in her purse for her mobile. She punched in the number whilst she moved out onto the back porch, “hey Christina, it’s me. Can you talk? ... How’s operation BDTF coming along? ... Oh, that’s perfect. Everything’s set for Tuesday so I’ll meet you by the chemists at about ten ... Good. See you then.”  
  
Phase one of ‘Betty and Daniel Together Forever’ was now complete and phase two would soon be put into action. Alexis couldn’t help but wonder how long it would take Daniel to sort things out on his own, “too long,” she murmured. At least this way Daniel would be in Betty’s arms before the year was out or her name wasn’t Alexis Meade. And she’d spent way too much money on operations and therapy to make sure her name was never an issue again. She just hoped that everything went as smoothly over the next few months than had done over the last few days otherwise they’d all be in trouble, and that was a place that neither Daniel nor Betty could afford to be in. Speaking of which, she just needed to make one last phone call, “Hi Arno, how’s our boy doing?”

.oOo.

“Hey, Philippe,” Daniel called as he made his way across the boatyard towards the company offices.  
  
Philippe caught him before he reached the door, “’Ow did it go, with Alexis?” His face bright with expectation, if they could get the money to produce more of the prototype boats when they were ready to show in Southampton then maybe the company could start making some real money. It was a miracle that he’d met Daniel on that flight from New York the previous year, but to have his sister on board as well, that really would make the business fly.  
  
“She’s in. Came back with me and the boat yesterday and she really loved the way that boat handled itself across the Channel, wants one for herself now.”  
  
“Oh, that’s great news.”  
  
“She want s to come across and meet you about eleven, is that ok?”  
  
“Perfect. I’ll get Natalie to set up the boardroom.” And with that he was gone.  
  
Daniel made his way past the enthusiastic Frenchman and the receptionist on the way to his office. Once safely ensconced, he set up his laptop, checked his emails and made a few calls. Natalie had meanwhile left him his tea and a couple of rounds of toast and marmalade on his desk. It wasn’t quite what Betty used to bring him but it would have to do. Bagels were a little harder to come by in this neck of the woods so he’d have to manage with what he could get. He bit into the toast, savouring the flavour of the marmalade, smiling. Natalie’s mum’s homemade preserve was definitely the best.  
  
He checked his calendar, apart from his meeting with Philippe and Alexis mid morning, and a sales drive meeting that afternoon, there was only one thing left to do. ‘Call Betty’.  
  
 _“Hello, Dunne Publishing. How may I help you?”_  
  
“Hi, yes. I’d like to speak with a Miss Betty Suarez, please?”  
  
 _“Which publication is that for?”_  
  
“I’m sorry, I’m not entirely sure. I’m an old friend; I was hoping to hook up with her.”  
  
 _“Let ... me ... just ... see ... if ... I ... can, oh yes, I see her. She’s the Executive Producer of ‘The Capital’. However, she’s on holiday this week. Can I take a message for her or would you like to leave a message on her voicemail?”_  
  
What to do, a message might get to her quicker than her picking up her voicemail, but this was Betty. She wouldn’t be too far away from her phone and a voicemail would be more personal. “Could I do both?” Better to cover both bases.  
  
 _“Of course, let me just take your details and then I’ll put you through. Who shall I say is calling?”_  
  
“My name is Daniel Meade, we used to work together at Mode magazine,” did he really just say that? “Um ... I ... er, just ask her to call me. I have a new cell ... er ... mobile number that she can reach me on. It’s 07999 555368 and my email address is d.meade@wayfarersboats.com.”  
  
 _“And you said you wanted to ‘hook up’ with her?”_  
  
“Yes, I just want to get back in touch with her. Thank you.”  
  
 _“Thank you Mr Meade, I’ll just put you through to her voicemail ... Hi, you’ve just reached the voicemail for ... Betty Suarez ... please leave your message at the tone.”_  
  
Daniel’s skin broke out in goose bumps as soon as he heard her call her name in her perky style. If only he could hear that again. “Er ... Hi Betty, it’s Daniel. ... Er ... Daniel Meade,”  _was that absolutely necessary,_ “I’m just ringing to see if we could maybe talk. You left and there were things that were left unsaid. I’d really like to speak with you if that’s at all possible. I’m hoping that you got an email from the receptionist, it has all my new contact details on it so please feel free to get in touch even if it’s just an email to tell me to get lost.” A nervous laugh emitted and he shook his head at himself, “anyway, I hope I’ll get a chance to speak with you soon, we both appear to have a lot of catching up to do. Bye Betty.”  _I love you._  
  
He replaced the receiver, happy in the knowledge that he’d at least set the ball rolling. He just hoped that she didn’t just press the delete button on her phone as soon as she heard his voice.  
  
“You’re looking a little anxious?” Alexis stood in the doorway of his office, the door banging against the wall behind it.  
  
“I just phoned Betty.” He smiled.  
  
“And ...” Alexis prompted.  
  
“Well, I didn’t get to speak to her; she’s on vacation this week. But I left a message and a voicemail.”  
  
“Covering both bases, well done Danny, I’m impressed.” Alexis grinned, “not such a duffus after all.”  
  
“I’ll just have to wait and see if I get a response, won’t I.”  
  
Alexis watched Daniel get up from his seat and pick up his half eaten toast along with his notes for the meeting. “You will, I’m sure of it. Can I ask you something?”  
  
“Sure, fire away?” He offered her a slice but she declined.  
  
“Do I look ok for a meeting on a boatyard; I sadly didn’t bring any Chanel with me?” Dressed in a t-shirt, jeans and converse he was hardly dressed for a meeting of any importance himself unless it was at Player.  
  
He took in the bleached denim turn ups and the pillar box red scooped necked batwing jersey top, but wait, “you managed to pack the Louboutins’s. I’m sure Philippe will be impressed.”  
  
“So you can take the boy out of the fashion mag,” she teased, “Is Philippe single?” She knew he was hot, she’d already seen his profile on the boatyard’s web page.  
  
Daniel shook his head and smiled, “yes, he is. He ran to England from a messy divorce about 5 years ago. Be careful, Alexis, I don’t think he’s over it yet.”  
  
“Don’t worry; I have no intention of throwing myself at anyone especially with my track record. Let’s just see how the land lies.” She smiled, “come on, let’s get this meeting going.”  
  
Daniel crossed the hallway in front of her and opened the door to allow her access into the boardroom. Sauntering in, she stopped just short of where Philippe was sat and bent forward, a good amount of cleavage on show. “Hi, you must be Philippe.”  
  
An eyebrow raised, Daniel watched the scene unfold in front of him shaking his head and smiling to himself. Philippe had all but fallen out of his chair in order to take Alexis’ proffered hand and kiss the back of it. “Bon jour, Mademoiselle Meade. You are even more beautiful than your brother’s appraisal.”  
  
“Thank you Philippe. And you are definitely more handsome in the flesh. Would it be awkward if we had a drink sometime this week whilst I’m here?”  
  
 _What was that she said about taking things slowly?_ Daniel closed the boardroom door. “Right, now that you two have made your own introductions maybe we can progress with the meeting.”

.oOo.

Christina had opted for a pre natal massage that took twice as long as Betty’s stone massage. Noticing that Christina was actually asleep she nipped off back to her room to check on her emails and messages before the milk bath that they’d booked for later on that morning.  
  
As her laptop booted into life, she checked around for her diary. She needed the pass code to pick up any messages on her voicemail and she knew she’d written somewhere ... she found the page, placing the book upside down on the desk in order to keep it open whilst she checked her emails. She scanned through them, ticking off any that looked like junk and moved them into trash; she was still left with thirty messages. She skimmed through the rest, several from Lesley; two about a shoot in Leicester Square the week after she was due back; one about a new restaurant that had opened up in Soho; and one to wish her a happy holiday.  
  
She cocked her head to one side and smiled. “Aw, he’s so sweet.”  
  
She forwarded several on to her next in command, asking for him to check out the requests and deal with them how he saw fit, or more importantly how he felt she would deal with them. That left her with about ten. One was from Hilda and another from Papi, she’d read them later when she had more time. One was a newsletter from Amanda’s Stylist web page inviting people to join her LinkedIn profile, go figure and several were from Marc’s blogsite telling her that he had updated. Another couple of things to do for later on.  
  
Which left her with three; an invitation to help Mr Suarez out by getting his gold out of Ethiopia in exchange for $20,000. Delete. Another invitation but this was legitimate, to a soiree at the Dorchester for Betty plus one, to a gala dinner in aid of Cancer Awareness, mark as unread and move to Invitation folder. Lastly a message from reception headed ‘Daniel Meade called’. Her finger hovered over the delete key momentarily. A little impersonal but he could ring her instead of hiding behind an email. Delete.  
  
She closed the program but was prompted, ‘Do you wish for all mail in trash and junk mail folders to be permanently deleted?’ She hit yes, no point in keeping anything that she didn’t need. ‘Thank you, all mail has been deleted’.  
  
“And thank you.” She smiled at the screen before picking up her phone and gaining access to her work voicemail. Once she was connected there were only a handful of messages and most had already been sorted out via email, she could sort out the rest when she got back to work next week. She got to the last message and hit 1 to play.  
  
“ _Er ... Hi Betty,”_ her heart skipped a beat.  _“It’s Daniel. ... Er ... Daniel Meade,”_  she had to laugh, it wasn’t like she was likely to forget who Daniel was for a long while. At least he’d left a message as well as an email _. “I’m just ringing to see if we could maybe talk. You left and there were things that were left unsaid.”_ She felt her mouth constrict a little as she held her breath. _“I’d really like to speak with you if that’s at all possible.”_ Oh yes, if it meant an end to the sorry mess she was in then she really was ready to talk to him. _“I’m hoping that you got an email from the receptionist,”_ no! _“It has all my new contact details on it.”_  NO! “ _So please feel free to get in touch even if it’s just an email to tell me to get lost.”_  
  
“No, no, no, no, no!”  
  
 _“Anyway, I hope I’ll get a chance to speak with you soon, we both appear to have a lot of catching up to do. Bye Betty.”_  
  
“Oh shute,” she opened up her email program, sure enough when she opened the trash folder there were no messages left. She called her works reception.  
  
 _“Hello, Dunne Publishing. How may I help you?”_  
  
“Hi, my name is Betty Suarez; I’m Executive Producer of ‘The Capital’.”  
  
 _“Good morning Miss Suarez, how can I direct your call?”_  
  
“Well, I don’t know if it was you ... erm ... sorry, what’s your name?”  
  
 _“I’m called Amanda, Miss Suarez.”_  
  
“Oh, right Amanda.” Hopefully she was nothing like another Amanda she knew, “I don’t know if you took a call from a Mr Daniel Meade this morning?”  
  
 _“Oh yes, Mr Meade. Lovely American accent.”_  
  
“Yes,” OMG. “Well, you took a message from him which had his contact details and you emailed them over to me. Do you think you could resend the message as I deleted it by mistake?”  
  
 _“I’m sorry Miss Suarez; we’re not able to do that. Once the message leaves the reception email account and reaches yours it’s deleted automatically.”_  
  
She should’ve known, “oh, ok. I don’t suppose you wrote the details out before sending them over?”  
  
 _“No, I typed them straight into the email. I’m very sorry.”_  
  
“No, no. It wasn’t your fault.”  _You weren’t supposed to know that he was the love of my life!_ “If he rings back can you make sure you get his details again?”  
  
 _“Of course Miss Suarez. I hope your trip is wonderful and see you in a week.”_  
  
“Thanks, Bye.” She put down the receiver, her heart weighing heavy in her chest. Tears threatening to drop just as Christina walked through the door.  
  
Betty rushed over to her friend; a hug was what she needed. “Hey, what’s happened?” Christina soothed, her hand stroking Betty’s arms as she steered them both towards the edge of the bed.  
  
“Love isn’t supposed to be this hard, is it?”  
  
“Perhaps you should ask your readers that one?” Christina looked down to her bump. “Can I ask what prompted that question?”  
  
“Daniel!”  
  
“Daniel?”  
  
“He called my office this morning and left a voicemail.”  
  
“Well, that’s good isn’t it?” Christina smiled, phase two nearly completed.  
  
“Yes,” she sighed, “and no. Listen.” She handed her phone over to Christina for her to listen to Daniel’s message.  
  
Christina nodded and smiled encouragingly, “so what’s the problem, he wants to speak to you.”  
  
“I deleted the email.”  
  
“The one with all the contact details in it?”  
  
“Mmm-mm, yep. I’d just phoned reception at work before you came in, to see if they could resend the email but it gets deleted from the server once it’s got to its destination.”  
  
“Oh.”  _Phase two hits a snag_.  
  
“I’m such a dork.”  
  
“No you’re not. These things happen, Betty. If it’s meant to be it will happen, you just have to hope and pray that Daniel rings again.”  _He bloody better do._  
  
“And if he doesn’t?”  
  
Christina put her arm around her friend, “then we’ll just have to see if we can find out where he is, won’t we?”


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was a lovely warm July morning when the park and ride bus finally deposited its occupants in the middle of Salcombe. Christina and Betty had noticed a real estate office as soon as they got off the bus and were discussing the prices of the homes before they made their next move. "Right Betty, I need some sun tan lotion so I'll just pop into the chemists and get some."

"Ok, I'll come with."

"No, no. You go over to the beach and pick us a good spot before all the locals bring their kids and take up the whole beach. Find somewhere with a bit of cover for me though will you luvvie. Just follow the road down and the ferry will take you across."

"Just down here?"

"Yep, you'll see the ramp when you get down there and then you can follow you're nose."

"Right," she shrugged to Christina's back before turning and walking down the hill. "Just follow my nose."

She went slowly, looking around her as she walked further on past local shops with sea themed crafts in their windows, a tea room advertising Devon Cream Teas, an old pub with half timbered walls and stone footings. On the other side of the road was a small supermarket where she noticed a blonde woman with dark glasses and cut offs was leaving a man and, whom Betty guessed to be their son with carrier bags of shopping as the woman walked up the hill away from them and in the same direction that Christina had gone in earlier on. If Betty hadn't known better she'd actually have thought that the blonde was Alexis Meade but what on earth would she be doing here? And if that was the case, then wouldn't that be Daniel and DJ. She looked back at the retreating figure of the blonde, no couldn't be Alexis, no way she'd be seen in cut-offs and flip flops that weren't designer.

The father and son crossed in front of her and walked into the driveway of a blue and white cottage. When she got to the building they were already inside but she picked out the name on the side of the building, 'Blue Lagoon'. "That figures, although it's not actually by the water." She said to herself. The garden was beautiful, ornamental grasses and palms kept a guard around the small green patch of grass under the bay of what she imagined to be the living room window. Geraniums and petunias trailed over the edges of the hanging baskets whilst lavender and a bay tree kept a vigil by the front door, dainty white butterflies and huge bumble bees danced around the petals of every other flower in the border. In the driveway a burnt orange Range Rover Sport was set up for a wind surfing outing. If only she could be lucky enough to live in a house like this. "Maybe one day."

She continued on the path downwards towards the estuary noticing the slipway that Christina had mentioned. But was that actually the ferry? The tractor bore no resemblance to anything that would float but she guessed that it didn't matter what it was along as she didn't have to swim. As it pulled up and let the few passengers off, she climbed on and got a seat. Within a few minutes she was on the other side and scoping out the beach for a place to rest with a bit of shade. She didn't want to go too far just in case Christina couldn't find her and, God forbid, couldn't call because Betty had no signal on her phone.

Finding a place in an alcove, Betty dumped her stuff and began laying out the towels for Christina and herself. Rummaging through her bag she found her well-loved copy of Jane Eyre, got herself comfortable upon her towel and began to read.

Christina's bag began to ring, "she must have left her phone in there," Betty said to no-one in particular as she lent over and put her hand in Christina's bag; if it was important then Betty should at least answer it and take a message. Desperately, she attempted to discover it pulling out several bottles and tubes from the bag including a spray on lotion. "That's funny, Christina went to the chemist for some lotion," but then she remembered the article about pregnancy they'd run several months previously and the fact that it made most women forgetful. She smiled wistfully to herself, "I guess we're all dorks at one point or another," before settling back once again and enjoying her book.

.oOo.

Christina was looking at the rows of sun tan lotion when Alexis found her in the chemist. "I've just been trying to ring you."

"Oh sorry Alexis, I left my phone in my other bag and I have to take a bottle of sun tan lotion back with me whilst I've already got one in my bag with my phone otherwise Betty might get suspicious. Unfortunately, a side effect of pregnancy is enforced stupidity. Something you were lucky enough to avoid."

"Hmm, I guess. So how are you doing?" She followed Christina to the till and waited whilst she paid for her item before both women walked from the shop and continued down the road to the tea rooms.

They took a table out on the back patio where the mid-morning sun was just pulling around. "I'm doing very well thank you. And you?"

"Yeah, very well. DJ is a good kid and we're really enjoying life in Paris. I see that your label's doing really well over there."

"Aye, very well indeed, much better than I ever expected and I'm getting a chance to show my Autumn Collection in New York next year so you never know how that may go."

"I'm glad. With all the crap Wilhelmina put you through with the baby and all, you deserve this. How are Stuart and William?"

"They're both great, having a boys week together, which basically means cocopop sandwiches and crayons on the walls. What am I doing leaving them together alone?" She laughed.

"And now you have another on the way too?"

Christina nodded her head, "although the little blighter won't keep still this morning. She's kicked my bladder twice already." Her hands cupped her belly where a small protusion was now visible. "Come here, give me your hand."

Alexis obliged as Christina laid her hand over the area, "what is that?"

"I'd say either an elbow or a knee."

"She's certainly lively." Alexis' smile was faint.

"Och, to be honest this is the best bit, but once this passes the pain can be unbearable."

"Thanks Christina, for attempting to make me feel a little bit better. Now how did phase two go?"

Christina sipped at her tea. "It wasn't a complete success."

"Daniel made the call and also left a message with all of his contact details. What happened?"

"Betty deleted his details, by mistake I hasten to add. She listened to his voicemail after she'd seen the email and by then it was too late. The email couldn't be sent again because the server had wiped it. So she has a message that she can play as much as she likes but no way of getting in contact."

"Oh, damn. Ok, I think we should move on to phase three as we'd prepared it. They can meet up unexpectedly instead and we can take it from there."

"Right, fingers crossed nothing goes awry in between times."

.oOo.

"You hoo, Betty." Christina was standing over her friend, trying to get her attention.

"Not now Mrs Fairfax, nothing could go wrong. He loves me and tomorrow I'll be Mrs Rochester, lady of this house."

"Oh, God." Christina knelt down as best she could in her predicament. "I do hope I'm not Mrs Fairfax again and it better be Daniel Meade you're marrying." She pushed Betty's shoulders hard.

Betty sat up, a little disorientated, "Mrs Fairfax?"

"No Betty, Mrs McKinney."

"Oh sorry Christina, I must have dozed off. Is this spot ok?"

"It's perfect for the moment. Aren't you going to take your dress off and get some sun on those limbs of yours."

Betty wrapped her arms around her torso, "I don't know, I'm still a bit self conscious about it."

"No one knows you here."  _Apart from the Meade family ,_ "I'm sure the sight of your fantastic figure will be a welcome one."

"I suppose," she replied, getting up from her spot and untying the bow at the side of her wrap dress. As she allowed the cool linen to fall from her shoulders she quickly grabbed the dress and neatly folded it up, depositing it on her bag before stretching out her arms and legs in the sun.

"Why don't you have a dip?"

"I suppose I could, do you mind?"

"No, why should I? I'm just happy to be sitting down and giving my ankles a rest, I don't want them swelling up if I can help it."

She stripped off her sunglasses and hat, letting them fall onto the towel. A twist of the pin holding her hair in place was enough to allow it to cascade down her back and then she was off, running over the soft warm golden sand down to the water's edge and in. The surf tickled her toes as she felt the temperature of the water and soon she walked in without feeling anything other than the need to cool down. She swam out to a point where she could barely touch the bottom with her feet before turning around and allowing the waves to take her back to shore before repeating the process again and again. This was the life, even if it was just a day trip to the seaside, it still felt like a little piece of heaven, a place where she could so easily drift to for the odd weekend, even in winter. "If only I could run the magazine from a place like this." Now she understood why so many of her colleagues commuted in or had holiday homes on the coast. It was the perfect getaway.

An errant beach ball bounced off her head, rolling on top of the water and drifting off with the tide. She caught up with it, pouncing on it and using it as a device to help her get back in towards the shore. And hopefully give it back to the owner. As soon as she kicked and felt the sand shift underneath her foot she stood and looked around for the children that had obviously lost it.

"Betty?"

The teen that stood in front of her with his combat trunks looked like someone she knew, but he was at least 18 inches taller and his hair had been cropped. "DJ?"

"Oui, yes."

"Is this yours?" She smirked, surely a teenager had much better things to play with, unless … "were you trying to drown me?"  _Especially after everything else you've done to me in the past._

"Non, I was … er … trying to get your attention."

"Why?" She walked back through the surf towards him, the ball stretched out towards him.

"Because I wanted to see if you'd like an icecream?" He asked sheepishly.

Betty laughed, a classic Meade technique, "were you trying to pick me up?"

"I saw a beautiful girl, I thought maybe we could 'ang out."

"Ha ha, oh DJ that's so funny." She looked around her expecting to see … who, who was she expecting? Daniel? "Are you on your own?"

"Oui, mother is sailing to Plymouth and I ditched Daniel over there." He pointed across the water to where the ferry was now pulling in to the slipway again.

"You ditched Daniel, oh my God." Betty stormed back to Christina, grabbing at her dress and pulling the fabric back around her.

"What's up?" Christina asked, noticing the boy that was following in Betty's tracks, "is that who I think it is?"

"Yes, and Daniel's on the next ferry across, is there any other way of getting out of here?"

"Not without a car. Hi DJ."

"'Ello Christina." DJ sat down on the edge of Betty's towel, the beach ball now forgotten at his feet.

Struggling to get everything into her bag, Betty pulled at the corner of the towelling fabric, "will you please get off the towel DJ, I have to get out of here. Christina what are you doing? Both of us need to go."

"Where exactly are we meant to go, Betty? We can't just evaporate into thin air. And I'm not quite as svelte as I usually am so there's no way I'm going to be able to hide behind any trees."

Betty sat back down, her head in her hands desperately thinking of anything that could stop the impending meeting. Talking to Daniel on the phone was one thing, seeing him in person would be quite another. "Betty, do you not wish to see my uncle?" DJ asked, but Betty didn't move.

"Thing is DJ, your uncle tried to make Betty's leaving Mode very difficult for her and at her leaving party he didn't even show up to say goodbye. She's still a bit annoyed with him." Christina said, moving closer to Betty before attempting to prise her hands away from her face. "Thing is, this morning you were so happy to get that message from him that I just don't quite understand what this is all about?"

"I can't see him, not yet anyway. It would be too much too soon."

"Ok, then we'd best think of a good excuse to get going because he's halfway here already."

.oOo.

Daniel had it all planned out, Alexis would take the boat around to Plymouth whilst he and DJ went wind surfing for a couple of hours, after lunch they'd go and fetch Alexis from the university and have a meal out at one of the pubs on the Barbican.

But Alexis was nowhere to be found. "DJ," he asked the errant teen, "do you have any idea where your mother went?"

"I think she went to get some food to put in your fridge, apparently you don't 'ave anything worth keeping."

Which was true, but that didn't mean she had to stock his cupboards up. He enjoyed going out to the pub or the local restaurants to eat, meeting different people, getting to speak with the locals and networking with potential clients. "Ok, let's go and help her then, the sooner we get this done the sooner we can get on today."

Once he'd finally managed to pry DJ from the games console the two of them walked up the hill to the supermarket hoping she was in there. She was, with a trolley full of stuff already by the time they got to her. "Alexis, what are you doing?"

"There is no point having a kitchen Daniel, if you don't use it."

A statement he just couldn't give a decent argument against. "Are you nearly done?"

"Nearly, let's get this lot through the register and then I've just got to run up to the chemist."

With a date arranged between Alexis and Philippe for later that evening he wasn't going to ask her what she needed. "Ok, well DJ and I will get this stuff home and packed away. Then you can go and meet Mike at the boatyard and take the yacht around to Plymouth. We'll meet with you in a couple of hours. Does that sound ok?"

"It sounds great Daniel." Alexis smirked, "I'll let you know when we're close to leaving the university."

"Ok, good. Have a safe sail." He said to her disappearing back. He'd already had the car packed up with the gear so by the time they'd got the groceries away they would have enough time to go surfing up the coast. "DJ, I've got one thing to do before we leave so if you want to go and wait in the car I won't be very long," said Daniel as he disappeared into the study. He heard the front door close whilst he scanned his emails. Nothing from Betty today. Perhaps she didn't have internet access where she was.

Daniel closed up the house and turned towards the car expecting to see DJ sat in the front seat with the windows down and the music blaring. Trouble was DJ was nowhere to be seen. He walked down the drive and onto the path, scanning the immediate roads for any teenage boys. Nothing.

Where could DJ be? He got in the car, backed out of the drive and searched every street in the town. Again nothing. "The beaches?" Driving to first the north then the south beaches in turn he searched every last inch of them to see if he could find his nephew but still there was no sight of him.

It had now been quite a time since DJ had first gone missing and Daniel feared that he had run away. But DJ had nothing to run away from, he was normally a good kid he just didn't always do what he was told. As Daniel parked the car back in the drive and having pulled the binoculars from the glove compartment he walked to the ferry slipway knowing that there was only one place DJ could now be. He raised the binoculars to his eyes searching the beach towels, deck chairs and loungers for the teen that could be a handful at times, hoping that he was there somewhere on the beach across from the town.

And that's when he saw her. She was just taking off her dress to reveal a simple black swimsuit beneath when he caught sight of her, the olive skin of the beauty before him was doing very little for his self control. He wanted to look away, wanted to continue the search for his nephew but he couldn't take his eyes off her, her shapely legs, the curve of her breasts, the way the fabric arched high over her hips and low down her back. She discarded her sunglasses first and then her hat, but it was when she let her hair down that he realised she seemed familiar. "Betty?"

_It couldn't be, could it?_  If it was her, then the possibility of getting back into her life seemed somewhat favourable now at least. All he had to do was come up with a plausible way of bumping into her.

But he still had to find DJ, Alexis would kill him if he turned up to pick her up sans her son. He lifted the binoculars back in front of his face, following the brunette as she ran towards the water. She was certainly beautiful, she'd lost some weight if it was Betty, but it was difficult to tell with the absence of glasses. Tentatively she approached the surf dipping her feet in at the edge before quickly running in and enveloping herself within the waves. He watched as she enjoyed the water, revelling in her delight until the ball hit her on the head and she went to retrieve it. Quickly he looked for the culprit, DJ. He might have known, classic Meade technique, and that's when he realised they were talking. It had to be Betty, no-one like that would've ever stood for DJ's pranks had they not known him.

He took the binoculars back to the car, it wouldn't look good if he turned up with them on his possession, before returning to the ferry and hopping on the next crossing. For ten nail biting minutes he wondered what he was going to say and how he was going to fare. Maybe the one reason she hadn't already been in touch was that she hadn't seen his message or listened to his voicemail, or maybe she just wasn't interested anymore and this meeting would make things even more awkward between them. Whichever it was, or the myriad of other possibilities it could've been, he had to play it cool, he had to play it as the angry uncle looking for the wayward teen, he had to play it as if he had never seen her.

As soon as he was off the ferry, he surveyed the beach for his nephew and spotted him walking closely behind Betty as she went back to her things. He stalked across the sand, his canvas deck shoes filling with sand but he didn't care, the sooner he got there the sooner he would be able to look into those eyes one more time. "DJ? What the hell do you think you were doing, running out on me like that? If your mother ever finds out that …" There was someone else there, "Christina?"

"Hi Daniel, could you help me up please DJ." DJ wandered over to Christina holding out his hands to her before pulling her up to stand. "Thank you. Now we'll just take this stuff here," she pointed to all the things that she and DJ could manage before discreetly walking away with the teen in tow. "We'll meet you two by the ferry." She called after her.

Daniel looked behind him, any support that either of them had was now walking in the direction of the landing. When he turned back, Betty was still huddled up in a ball, her face in her hands. "Hi."

Betty dropped her hands, her eyes focussing on the white soles of Daniel's shoes, unwilling to look up at him in case she just melted. "Hi," she finally managed, fumbling for her sunglasses and putting them on, finally happy that she could now function fearlessly as her gaze ran up the length of him, appraising his tanned legs and arms, the fitted t-shirt that encased his strengthened abdomen, the way the sun had lightened his hair, the day old stubble on his cheek, the cerulean chasms of his sparkling eyes and the curled up outer corners of his mouth that she desperately wanted to taste with her own. She looked away, seeking out Christina, hoping that she at least would be a safer alternative.

"I rang your office yesterday, did you get my messages." She shook her head hoping that he wouldn't press the subject, but she should've known better. "Betty, please, if you just deleted them then please just tell me, I need to know where I stand with you, can we be friends again?"

"I don't know, Daniel. I'm not sure. You really hurt me," try as she may she couldn't keep her emotions in check, "I needed you to be my rock, trusted that you would be there for me whatever decision I made, but you didn't even have the decency to come to my leaving party." By now she was crying.

He sank down into the sand in front of her. "I did come."

"You did?"

He nodded, "but I couldn't stay, I was hurting too, I couldn't envisage being at Mode knowing you wouldn't be there. So I had to leave, I had to let go and the only way I thought I could do that was to just walk away."

"You didn't even call me back."

"I couldn't face it, I'm sorry."

"And I questioned myself time and time again whether it was just me that was being selfish, when all along it was you and how you would be affected by my leaving. Not that I was flying across an ocean and that I was petrified of falling on my face." She got up, grabbed what was left of her things and stalked off.

Daniel threw his head back in shame before following behind her attempting to catch up with her but she was too fast and by the time they got to the ferry she was safely tucked away on the other side and away from him, Christina was her barrier attempting to soothe Betty of her pain. All the while he just hoped that she would at least look at him briefly but she turned away to watch the waves crashing against the cliffs at the estuary mouth. DJ rested a hand upon his shoulder and he quickly smiled at the teen his thanks, but inside his heart was physically cracking into thousands of pieces. And as he watched her walk up the hill and out of his life all he could think of was how he was ever going to make things better between them.

.oOo.

"So phase three was a complete disaster, although DJ was a little star." Christina said as she relayed the news to Alexis.

" _Of that I'm not surprised, DJ definitely has his father's scheming nature, if you know what I mean?"_

"Aye, well as long as it's kept in check, we don't want Wilhelmina scheming stakes to worry about."

" _I'll bear that in mind." Alexis paused on the other end of the line, "Daniel's beside himself, absolutely cut up. The only time I've seen him like this was when Molly died."_

"Oh dear. Betty hasn't come out of her room since we got back. She won't even tell me the exact details of what was said, all she keeps blathering on about is how selfish he is."

" _He certainly was, but not so much now. It's quite impressive how he seems to have turned that side of his personality around. Maybe starting over was the best thing he ever did. He just needs to get it together now and try to find a way to win her back."_

"But thats going to be difficult if Betty can't see a change in him."

" _Yeah, I've been thinking about that, if only she could see how he is with the staff at the boatyard. He's absolutely wonderful and they all adore him ... The boatyard is in the testing stage of a new prototype yacht. If it all goes to plan Philippe and Daniel have talks in place with the Mayor of London about having some of the larger yachts becoming part of the next generation of passenger ferries because the carbon footprint of each one is incredibly small. If we can persuade Lesley to get Betty to write a piece on this ahead of the Southampton Boat Show then she'll have to come down to the boatyard in order to get the material she's going to need, it will give the boatyard publicity it needs as well as Daniel being able to showcase his synergy with the staff. I can get Philippe to be her contact, that way she won't have a clue about Daniel until she's there."_

"I like it, and then we can put phase four into operation?"

" _Yep, it's all ready to go, all we've got to do is say the word."_

"In that case then, let me have some concrete background info on the yachts and I'll have a word with Lesley once I've got it, that way once Betty gets back to work we can get phase three point one into action." Christina switched off her phone. "I only hope she can get through the next few weeks with an open mind and see Daniel for who he really is, otherwise they'll be no point putting phase four into action."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
For someone who was brooding, Daniel was doing a good job hiding the pain and hurt that his heart had been experiencing since the afternoon before. Betty had hit the nail on the head as usual, he had been selfish. He hadn’t wanted Betty to leave Mode because  _he_  couldn’t tell how  _he_  was going to cope without her. He hadn’t shown up at her party because  _he_  wasn’t sure how  _he_  was going to handle knowing it would probably be one of the last opportunities  _he_  was going to have to see her, hold her, love her.  
  
She was right; he was the most selfish, spineless being that had walked the planet. Just because Betty’s leaving hadn’t suited him he’d made it extremely difficult for her to forgive him, want him, and love him back.  
  
“I’m such a fool.”  
  
“Well, you have been known to do some pretty stupid stuff,” Alexis was making blueberry pancakes for everyone, “But I think the situation with Betty has got to be the most stupid of them all.”  
  
“Thanks Alexis, you really have a knack of making me feel better about myself.”  
  
“You think you deserve to feel better? How on earth did you think she was going to react when she saw you again? You wasted far too much time after watching her leave before chasing after her. “  
  
“All things you’ve said before.”  
  
“And will continue to say if you carry on moping around like a sulky teenager.”  
  
“I’m not.”  
  
“Really? Should we seek the opinion of an expert here? I know, I’ll ask DJ when he comes down for breakfast shall I?” Placing the plate down in front of Daniel she passed the maple syrup. “What was said yesterday Danny? Maybe if I get an idea of the way the conversation went then we can work out an alternative plan of action for you to try and win her over.”  
  
“What’s the point?”  
  
“There isn’t one if the Daniel Meade of old is going to keep rearing his ugly head.”  
  
For several minutes there was silence. He smeared syrup over his plate, took a mouthful and then decided that that was enough. “You have to eat Danny.”  
  
He cut through another small portion and savoured it slowly, “Ok. I asked her if she got my messages, she didn’t say anything but she shook her head.”  
  
 _Well I know that’s a lie,_ “ok?”  
  
“So I pressed on, asking that if she did and she just didn’t want to reply to them then that was fine but I needed to know where I stood and if we could still be friends.”  
  
“What did she say to that?”  
  
“That she didn’t know, she wasn’t sure, that I really hurt her.”  
  
“Did she say why?”  
  
He nodded, “Because she always thought that I would be her rock, be there for her when she needed me the most, the one person that she could trust to back her up 100%. Then she threw my no show to the party in my face … I told her I was there briefly and when she questioned me about it I told her the truth, I told her that I was hurting too, that I couldn’t face work knowing she wasn’t going to be there, that I had to let her walk away.”  
  
Alexis sat on the stool next to Danny, a comforting arm around his shoulders. “Oh Danny, you bared your soul to her.”  
  
“Yes, but when she asked me why I hadn’t called her back I just told her that I couldn’t face it.”  
  
“Oh. I think that may have been where you blew it.”  
  
“Possibly.” He sighed, “because that’s when she told me that she’d believed herself to be the selfish one for leaving everyone behind in order to follow her dream; but after putting herself through the ringer she realised it was me and not her.”  
  
“And I don’t want to tell you I told you so but she is very perceptive.”  
  
 “Seriously? Not helping. She wouldn’t even look me in the eye after that, we sat on opposite sides of the ferry and once we got back to town she and Christina walked up the hill to catch the bus, I didn’t have a chance to say anything else.”  
  
“Ah, that’s gotta hurt.”  
  
“I know already,” he said quietly. “Doesn’t help me get her back though does it.”  
  
“She needs time to process all of this before you can act again because, I’m sorry to have to say it bud, but you’re gonna have to start all over again. If I were you I’d give her some space, a couple of weeks and then try again.”  
  
“And in the meantime?”  
  
“Get back into work and have a couple of weeks holiday, come to Paris with DJ and I when we fly back, try and put this sorry mess behind you. Most importantly forgive her, she’s not herself and the best way that both of you can move forward is if you don’t have this hanging over your heads. She needs to see the man that you’ve become not the whiny boy she left behind. You have to rise above everything and show her how much you’ve changed since Mode but this will be a lengthy process, you need to be in it for the long haul Daniel, there is no quick fix for what you’re going through.”  
  
“I would wait forever if it meant I only had a second with her, Alexis. I love her and I will do anything to get her back even if it means starting again.”  
  
“Well, now all you’ve got to do is mean it!”

.oOo.

“This is a welcome surprise,” Christina said as she joined Betty at the breakfast table, it was covered in all manner of baked goods, cereals and toast. “Is there something you need to tell me, are you hiding a very small man underneath your clothes and your feeding him?”  
  
“No, I just got my appetite back … and I’m famished.”  
  
“Right.” Christina responded. “Is there a particular reason for this complete one eighty in emotion?” She watched as Betty nodded, “do you want to let me in on it?”  
  
“Matt’s coming to London, he’ll be staying with me next week.”  
  
Christina ordered a boiled egg being the only thing she could manage. “Staying with you, as in staying in your flat or staying in your bed?”  
  
“Christina! It’s none of your business.”  
  
“No, you’re right. What’s my business is picking up the pieces afterwards.” She poured out a large mug of coffee.  
  
“That was a bit uncalled for.” Betty bit back.  
  
“I know, I’m sorry Betty, but we haven’t even talked about yesterday.”  
  
“There’s nothing to talk about.”  
  
“Nothing to talk about?” Christina was shocked, “you meet up with the one person on this planet you haven’t seen for absolutely ages. But you’re always complaining that he didn’t call you back, and what? What happened? What was said?”  
  
“I don’t want to discuss it, Christina.”  
  
“Well you might not, but I do. You can tell me or you can tell me not, but I know how you feel about that man, the way you reacted to him being within a foot of you yesterday was enough for me to realise what was going on. You love him.”  
  
“No, I don’t.”  
  
“Don’t try and kid a kidder Betty, I’ll catch you out.” Christina warned. “You’ve never not wanted to tell me things before so why are you starting now?”  
  
“It was the way you just got up and left. I’d hate to think that you had anything to do with that meeting.”  
  
Christina dropped her mug, the contents splashing all over the almond Danish. “I left you to it so that you two could talk, after all that’s what you said wanted to do. How could you ever think that I had something to do with setting that up?” She looked away, a pained expression washing over her face.  
  
“I’m sorry, Christina. I just couldn’t think of anything more plausible. It all seemed too perfect to be true. Although there was absolute shock in his voice when he saw you were there, I heard that.”  
  
“I know, it rose several octaves.”  
  
Betty laughed, “oh I really am stupid sometimes; why would you set anything like that up?” She took hold of her friend’s hand.  
  
 _Oh my God I’m going to go to hell._ “Absolutely, why would I? It’s not like I’m his biggest fan, is it?”  
  
Betty shook her head. “He did look good though, don’t you think. Obviously something’s working out well for him.”  
  
“If you say so, can’t say I’ve ever taken a shine to that one but then you knew him a lot better than I did and it wasn’t like I helped my relationship with him when I was allegedly carrying his half-sibling for Wilhelmina’s money.”  
  
“Well, if it’s any consolation he hasn’t changed a lot, still a bit whiny, still selfish. Everything has got to be about him.”  
  
“Oh?”  
  
“When I told him he really hurt me, he tells me he was hurting too. He tells me that he did come to my leaving party but that he couldn’t bear for that to be the last time he saw me. When I question him about not calling me back he said he just couldn’t face it.”  
  
“Oh bloody hell, he really has it bad.”  
  
  
“Don’t you mean had?”  
  
“No has, you didn’t see the look on his face when he was first walking towards us, until he saw me that was anyway.”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“He loves you, Betty. He has for some time.”  
  
“What is wrong with you and his mother?”  
  
“What do you mean, his mother? What has Claire Meade got to do with the price of fish?”  
  
“At my party I asked her if she knew if Daniel was coming, she said she didn’t. But then she tells me that losing me has been very hard for him and that he doesn’t know quite why yet. She intimated that he was in love with me but he wasn’t aware of it – she called it her theory.”  
  
“Like me and mine?”  
  
“Yeah, something like that.”  
  
“So, he loves you, you love him, what’s the problem?”  
  
“I blew it; I basically told him yesterday that I can’t be his friend because he’s been too selfish. If he ever wants to speak to me again it will be a miracle.”  
  
Christina sympathised, but couldn’t help thinking how stubborn Betty was being. “What happens now?”  
  
“You and I finish our holiday, I go home and see Matt and maybe take it from there.”  
  
“And you and Daniel?”  
  
“If he wants to speak to me then he knows where I am”. And there it was, Christina had to smile.  
  
They carried on with breakfast for a few minutes in silence, but Christina couldn’t take it any longer, she needed a safe subject. “What do you want to do today then?”  
  
“A Victorian prison sounds like an interesting concept today followed by a dose of rolling countryside, rocky outcrops and lots of farmyard smells.”  
  
“Ok sister, let’s blow this pop stand.”

.oOo.

Daniel spent his last few days before his impromptu vacation literally throwing himself into his work. He was there before anyone else and was the last to leave, which only highlighted the problem of his aching heart further. Rather than respond to it and work out what he needed to do, he hid behind anything that wouldn’t remind him of it, he was a train wreck waiting to happen.  
  
By the time he was ready to fly, he had handed over only what was really needed to be looked at whilst he was out of the country, everything else he’d either dealt with or would look at when he got back. He accepted a gift of another pot of marmalade from Natalie, manna for the soul she told him but it only helped to remind him of his difficult week. He left knowing that everything important was in Philippe’s capable hands.  
  
Philippe had offered to take him and his family to the airport and after having to watch his sister make out with Philippe and promising that she’d see him in a couple of weeks, they all found their way through the departure lounge to pick up the airbus that would take them to Heathrow in order to catch their onward connection.  
  
For the whole hour and forty minutes that they spent in Heathrow, Daniel could do nothing but think about Betty, what she was doing at each precise moment, if she was home, if she was still on holiday, if she was meeting up with friends, or even if she was on a date; which he discourteously hoped she wasn’t. But whatever she was up to he only hoped for one thing: that she was happy.  
  
Concerned, Alexis attempted to bring him out of himself but he wouldn’t budge, she realised this wasn’t stubbornness on his part just an inability to communicate with anyone at that moment. He barely said a word to either Alexis or DJ, which DJ hated. After all, Daniel had always been so cool with him, and now he just didn’t want to know.  
  
Barely sleeping on the plane he became further withdrawn, by the time they arrived in Paris all he wanted to do was go and sit in his room, he didn’t want to eat or sleep. He didn’t want to do or say anything. It was like losing Molly all over again. And when the anger started …  
  
“Do you know, I think Betty was right,” Alexis scowled at her brother, “you are selfish. Here DJ and I are trying to help and comfort you but because things haven’t gone the way you wanted them to you’re acting like a spoilt kid again.”  
  
It didn’t last for long, he no longer had the resolve to keep everything inside of him and for only the second time in his life he broke down into his sister’s embrace and cried. “My heart is breaking, I swear it.”  
  
Alexis did all she could to soothe him although she realised that everything needed to come out before he’d wake up and smell the coffee. “We talked about this remember, you have to give her time?”  
  
“Yeah,” he whispered, taking himself off to his room and collapsing, he slept for what seemed like the longest time. When he surfaced again ten days later he felt refreshed and could see the world through new eyes. He washed, shaved, dressed and when downstairs.  
  
It was such a welcome change in appearance that both his sister and nephew hugged him, and he hugged back. He’d definitely had his fair share of rough relationships but after all that, family was the only thing that truly mattered.  He was resolved to try things with Betty once more but after that he wouldn’t go there. It had been too painful already and he didn’t want to feel that way again. There was someone special out there for him, he’d once believed it was Betty but if he couldn’t make that work then he’d have to find his plan B. After all he wasn’t getting any younger, most of his friends and family had settled down and had families of their own, it was definitely his turn to have a piece of that.  
  
After dinner he made a proclamation. “When I get home I’m going to start dating.”  
  
“Anyone we know?” Alexis asked.  
  
“I think I’ll ask Natalie, she’s in between boyfriends at the moment.”  
  
“Daniel I wouldn’t go there.”  
  
“Why not?”  
  
“Because she’s your assistant for one thing, and she’s very young.”  
  
“And a substitute for Betty, huh?”  
  
Alexis shrugged her shoulders, “how about that blonde woman that works in the grocer’s”  
  
Daniel shook his head, “do you know how many kids she’s got?”  
  
“That’s a bit prejudiced, isn’t it?”  
  
“Seriously, I don’t mean anything by it Alexis, but I want a family of my own, not someone else’s. If the right woman’s got a kid, or even two then maybe, but not that many.”  
  
“Right, well what about the brunette I met at the university, what was her name?”  
  
“Do you mean Siobhan, elfin hair and no bust?”  
  
“No, this girl had longer hair, although it was in pig tails when I met her.”  
  
He sipped his wine desperately wracking his brains, “oh I know who you mean. Georgette?”  
  
“Yes, that’s the one.”  
  
He shook his head, “she’s seeing a body builder. I’m definitely not going there.”  
  
“Oh well, I’m sure whomever you ask, they’ll be great.”  
  
“Like I’ve done great so far on my own?”  
  
“Molly was wonderful for you.”  
  
He smiled, “yes she was. I think it was her influence that really made me open my eyes and see people for what they were. She opened my eyes to Betty.” He looked his sister straight in the eye. “Tell me this gets easier.”  
  
“I wish I could, Daniel,” she sighed, “but unfortunately it doesn’t. Just remember that when you get back home in a couple of days it’s the first day of the rest of your life and you need to start living it.”  
  
“Thanks Alexis.”  
  
“My pleasure.” She raised her glass in the air, “Here’s to you brother, a duffus but a good one.”

.oOo.

It was coming up to four o’clock in the afternoon by the time Christina had dropped Betty off at her flat and another two hours had passed by the time she’d unpacked and gone to the local store to pick up a few items she needed to keep herself alive. As she was about to grab her keys from her purse she noticed a figure loitering by the front door and before she realised what she was doing she took a step forward and confronted the man.  
  
“Erm, excuse me but the hostel is down the road, next to the church,” she smiled at the man, hoping that the way she was shouldering past him to get to the door would be enough of an incentive for him to get going.  
  
“I’m sorry, I’m not looking for any hostel, I’m looking for my friend.”  
  
As he turned to face her she caught a sight of familiarity. “Oh my God, Matt? What happened to you?”  
  
“Jesus, Betty. What happened to you?” Her eyebrows knotted together in her confusion, “you look amazing. The clothes, the hair, the glasses. Your braces are gone too.”  
  
“Thanks, I guess. Are you ok, you look like you’ve been kidnapped and only just released?”  
  
“I suppose in a way I was, it’s just seems to have taken so long to get here from Botswana. I just wanted to see how you were before I check in to a hotel somewhere and maybe ask you out to dinner, if you’re free that is?”  
  
“What are you talking about? You can stay here with me,” she opened the door, holding it open for him to come past her. Offering to carry some of her load, they crossed the hallway to the stairs and climbed the six flights to her apartment, chatting like old friends. “See,” she opened the door and pushed her way inside, “I’ve got plenty of room for the two of us.”  
  
“Betty, thank you, but I think you’d feel more comfortable if I found somewhere else to stay. It’s been a while since we last saw one another and the last thing I want to do is cross over any lines.”  
  
“What are you talking about? You can have the bed, I’ll take the sofa. We’ve got so much to catch up with.” She smiled, “I was hoping that we’d be able to while away some hours talking well into the night like we used to.”  
  
“I’d like that, but I’m not going to kick you out of your bed.” He responded, “there must be something close by?”  
  
“Not much,” she shrugged, “there’s a small guest house two blocks away but a neighbour said that some friends of hers had stayed there and they wouldn’t let their dog sleep there.”  
  
“Are you sure you don’t mind me staying?”  
  
“No, of course not, what kind of friend would I be if I left you out in the cold, huh?”  
  
“No argument though, I’m taking the sofa. To be honest, with what I’ve been used to sleeping on over the past two years a sofa is welcome.” He smiled, the outer corners of his mouth seemingly touching his eyes. “May I hug you?”  
  
“Of course, come here.” She opened her arms for him to walk into them.  
  
He closed his eyes breathing in her scent, he recognised the hint of lemons immediately, she still used the same perfume but her hair smelt of oranges and honey too. He kept his grip loose, “I’m afraid of rumpling you up.”  
  
Betty pulled, “please don’t Matt. We said goodbye on awkward terms. I don’t want the rest of our relationship to be like that. Outward appearances may have changed a little but I’m still Betty from Queens, and I still …”  _what? Love you, adore yo_ u, “want to be your friend.”  
  
“That’s good to know.” He drew back grabbing her hand and pulling her to sit by his side on Betty’s sofa. “I’m not going to specifically ask for anything but I want you to know something. You have never been far from my mind Betty. As you know, I’ve been keeping up with your blog and I’ve enjoyed speaking with you when we’ve had the chance to talk. Throughout my journey here I’ve been thinking more and more about you and what a fool I was to let you go. If you can find it in your heart to give me a second chance then I would gladly take it. I’m just putting this out there so that you know, I still love you Betty, and I don’t think I could ever stop so if there’s even the remotest chance that maybe you and I could start seeing one another again then I’d love the opportunity.”  
  
Betty’s face had fallen, and tears threatened.  _Second chances._ She should’ve given that to Daniel but she was too stubborn to allow that to happen. She’d thought she’d grown since she’d been in London. Maybe she had but maybe she’d grown into someone she didn’t particularly want to become, someone like Wilhelmina. “I’m sorry Matt, I don’t know if I can do that.”  
  
“I expected that, but don’t expect me to give up.”  
  
She smiled, knowing that Matt would never give up until he had his way again. She only hoped that she had enough gumption to remain true to her feelings, remain true to Daniel. If she couldn’t then he would be lost to her forever.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
  
Betty was mad. This had not exactly been what she’d envisioned spending her week doing, after all. She’d been planning to take Matt to some of her favourite places, to the National Gallery, Westminster Abbey, Regent’s Park. She’d even made reservations at some of the better restaurants in her neighbourhood but that was all put to one side. At least Matt had graciously accepted that she had to work, even if  _she_  couldn’t. And he promised her faithfully that he’d still be staying in her apartment by the time she came back home. Still, she’d never expected to be back in Salcombe so soon again after the fateful day when she’d finally caught up with Daniel Meade. And that was her main reason for being so angry, he’d gone to ground again. For just over three weeks she’d not heard a peep out of him.  
  
The gravel crunched under the tyres of her rental as she pulled into the boatyard’s car park. She picked a spot close to what appeared to be the main office block hoping that she wouldn’t have to spend too much time standing around in her Jimmy Choo black kitten heels on the rough stone surface. She’d hated to be so wrong about spending so much money on them but they were the most comfortable pair of shoes she owned. Unfortunately, they weren’t exactly the kind of footwear that would be conducive to dust, salt and sharp points.  
  
As she locked the car she heard someone approaching so turned to greet them. A young girl of around twenty three was standing about a foot away from her, her smile warm, “Miss Suarez?” she asked, the soft Devonian tones of a local accent dripping from her enquiry.  
  
“Yes, I’m Betty Suarez.”  
  
The girl looked relieved, “I’m so glad I got your name right, it was worrying me for a minute. I even went onto the internet to see if I could find a sound-bite of how I should pronounce it.”  
  
Betty smiled; she could really get on with this girl. “You were spot on,” she encouraged, “thank you for making the effort.”  
  
The girl blushed. “I’ve been told to tell you to meet Philippe at his partner’s house. You can take your car as there’s plenty of room for two vehicles in the drive. Here are the directions,” she handed over a printed map with an ‘x’ conveniently marking where Betty needed to get to. “Oh and here’s some marmalade. My mum makes it, neither of us was sure if there was any in the house, and you can’t have a house without marmalade.”  
  
Betty gratefully accepted the jar, inspecting the contents; it looked like some kind of orange coloured jam with bits in it. She’d ask Papi about it later once she’d settled in. “Thank you; sorry what was your name?”  
  
“Natalie Pascoe, Miss Suarez.”  
  
“Well, Natalie, thank you. And its Betty by the way, Miss Suarez makes me feel old and grey.”  
  
Natalie laughed genially. “Good afternoon, Betty. Go safely on those roads they get a bit narrow towards town.”  
  
Betty couldn’t believe that the roads could actually get any narrower than some she’d already driven down. But Natalie had been wise to forewarn her, the one she was now traversing had narrowed to just one car width. After about an hour along a stretch of road that in America would’ve taken her five minutes, she finally reached the outskirts of the town. She looked at the map trying to ascertain where she was. Then it struck her, as soon as she’d driven down the hill she’d see that beautiful blue cottage on the bend and knew that was the entrance to the road she needed. She checked the map; the ‘x’ covered the blue cottage. She slammed on the brakes, the driver behind her blaring his horn and swearing at her as he shot past. “That was where I saw Daniel and DJ go in,” she said to herself.  _It must therefore be Alexis’_ she reasoned,  _but what on earth would she be doing as a partner in a boatyard. She knows nothing about boats._  
  
She continued to the junction, pulling into the side road and then onto the paved driveway. Philippe must have seen her arrival as he too was by her car door as soon as she’d just about got out, stood up and closed the door behind her. “Hi I’m Betty Suarez.”  
  
“And I’m Philippe Valois, it’s an absolute pleasure to meet you. I’ve ‘eard so much about you.”  
  
“All good I hope,” she joked. “So you know Alexis Meade?”  
  
Philippe looked puzzled, “’Ow do you know Alexis?” Philippe asked.  
  
“I previously worked at Meade Publications before taking my current position in London. I was there long enough to get to know her.”  
  
“I see. Come I’ll show you in.”  
  
“It’s great of Alexis to let me stay here to be honest, especially whilst she’s away.” Betty wheeled her suitcase behind her, “although a guest house would’ve been fine.” Philippe merely nodded. “Oh, wait, do you live here too? Natalie said that I was staying at your partner’s place, I didn’t figure she meant you and Alexis together, as in dating.” She stopped at the threshold taking in the pale blue surroundings of the hallway, the stone flags that lay underneath her feet, the dark oak beams above her head. “This place is beautiful.”  
  
Philippe smirked. “You’ve but seen the ‘allway. ‘Ow can you tell?”  
  
“It feels like a home and not a house,” she said wistfully, moving further into the hall and taking a peek though the archway into the living area. “Alexis has done a great job.”  
  
“What gives you the idea that Alexis owns this place?”  
  
“Well, I was here on holiday a couple of weeks ago and I saw her son and brother come into this cottage. Is it not hers?”  
  
“Much as I would like it to be ‘ers, it sadly is not. She is just about to become a partner in the business but, again, sadly not a partner in my life.  Yet. This cottage is ‘er brother’s place. And to ‘im I owe everything. Daniel Meade is my business partner. Betty are you ok?”  
  
Betty slunk down on to the arm of the sofa, her face white from this new piece of information. “Can you tell me where I can stay for the next few nights please, whilst I’m covering your story? I can’t possibly stay here.” She garbled.  
  
“Betty, I’m sorry, it is not possible. All of the rooms are booked for the town regatta this week. I would offer to put you up but my place is a mess. This is all that is available and, quite ‘onestly, suitable for you.”  
  
“And Daniel’s away?”  
  
“Until Thursday evening, I’m picking ‘im up from the airport about four pm.”  
  
“Oh; and there’s absolutely nothing available locally.”  
  
“Nothing Betty, the regatta is very popular. In fact, I ‘ope that you would like to see some of the events this week, no?”  
  
Absently she nodded her head, “does he know I’m here?”  
  
“Not yet, it was all very sudden. I will tell ‘im when I speak to ‘im next time.”  
  
“Thank you. Maybe he’ll stay where he is for another couple of days until I’m gone.”  
  
“Maybe, but I doubt it. ‘E’s been away over two weeks now. ‘E needs to get back and ‘elp me win over the Mayor of London.”  
  
“Yes, I suppose he does.”  
  
“Betty, why so sad? Daniel ‘as always spoken about you with such praise. In fact, it was the main reason for agreeing to do this piece for your magazine. Mr Dunne was very persuasive but I would only go along with it because I knew you would be ‘andling it.”  
  
“Thanks Philippe, I think.”  
  
“Ok, ‘ere are the keys. I don’t think there is much in the way of food so if you’d like to join me for dinner this evening it would be a pleasure to take you to one of the local restaurants and we can ‘ave a chat about things before tomorrow. ‘Ow does that sound?”  
  
Her smile was weak but she accepted the invitation all the same. If she needed an ally then perhaps it would be a good thing to keep Philippe on side. “I’m sorry I could not make you ‘appier. This week will soon pass and you will be back in London quicker than you think.” He turned for the door, “I will meet you at The Orchid at seven thirty? You do like Thai food I suppose?”  
  
“I love Thai food, thank you Philippe, I’ll see you then.” And with that he was gone.  
  
For what seemed like several hours she sat still, but when she looked at her watch the reality was that she had been there for ten minutes. Not really knowing what it was she wanted to do she strolled aimlessly around the ground floor rooms, sizing everything up and quickly realising this was indeed Daniel’s place. Heirlooms and pictures scattered the walls and surfaces as a reminder of the US but this was definitely a place he’d made home and expected it to stay that way for some time. He’d put down roots and now he wanted them to grow strong.  
  
His office, although tidy was full of files and papers, on one wall boat blueprints were fastened, whilst testing data sheets and boating magazines were piled up on his desk. Financials were spread over a table in the corner of the room, and if the projections were accurate, he, Philippe and Alexis were set to make a lot of money. She skipped back out of the room, prying was not acceptable.  
  
Trudging her case upstairs she left it by the top step in order to see what was where. To her right was a box room, which quite literally was filled with boxes. Presumably it was stuff that had been shipped from the US and that Daniel had not yet had time to sort through. Across the landing was a bathroom that was obviously for guests. There was nothing of any great interest in there apart from the ceramic, which must have been Italian in origin.  
  
She inspected the two other rooms on the first floor, both guest bedrooms. She picked the one to the front with the lemon walls and floral paintings, ok so she’d have to run for the bathroom once Daniel was back home but the view from the picture windows was amazing, she’d be able to sit on the window seat and look out over the estuary whilst she was writing or thinking.  _Or even Skyping._  
  
Hauling the case into the room she placed it on the bed and opened it, she began pulling out the contents. Clothes were the priority; she hoped that the sooner they were on hangers the sooner the creases would fall out. Not that she was too worried, she was sure there must at least be an iron and an ironing board in the house somewhere. She’d go in search of them later. Her toiletries were next, the huge bag of cosmetics was dumped onto the dressing table, some of the contents were removed and the rest was taken to the bathroom along with a towel that she’d packed just in case. She lined up her shoes in the bottom of the closet and her nightwear was hung up on a hook on the back of the door. Having unpacked she placed the now empty case out of the way in an alcove.  
  
She looked at her watch, it was already half five. She showered quickly only then realising that she’d left her hair dryer at home. Would Daniel have one and if so where would he keep it?  A search of the first floor rooms was fruitless; she’d have to venture up one more flight if she was ever going to find anything. As she pulled her bath sheet around her frame more tightly she ascended into the roof.  
  
The stairs stopped at a wall of etched glass.  _Ok so this was definitely more Daniel._  Pushing at what appeared to be a panel the door opened and she stepped into his room, well his closet. Considering how many suits she’d remembered seeing in his New York loft there was but a handful here, only the best Armani, Hugo Boss and Ralph Lauren had been picked along with a Cavalli Tuxedo. There were about a dozen Mark Christopher shirts of varying colours to go with the suits and in front of them and closest to her was a tie hanger, his favourite purple ties hanging proudly from the top. The rest of his wardrobe was taken up with jeans and casualwear. A couple of pairs of Barker Black shoes took pride of place on the shoe rack, the rest now taken up by Rockport casuals and Converse sneakers. But the thing that struck her most was the sheer reduction in quantity; in New York he’d seemingly had mountains of stuff. Now it seemed he had very little in comparison, especially when she looked to her right and saw that the other side was completely devoid of anything apart from rails and cedar hangers.  
  
She walked through another glass door into a wet room; the likes of which she’d never even imagined could exist. The ceramic here was even more exotic and expensive than in the first floor bathroom. To her right she noticed a pair of hand basins with mirror faced cupboards set above each. The toilet and bidet were set behind a half wall and opposite the basins was an area set out as a double shower, the chrome shower heads were the size of dinner plates. She turned to her left, in the opposite space sat a freestanding bath big enough for two. This room had definitely been designed with Daniel plus one in mind.  
  
She continued on like Alice walking through Wonderland, hoping that she would soon reach the end of the rabbit hole. One more glass door and she was into his bedroom, a wall of clear glass to her right gave her an uninterrupted view of the estuary mouth and the channel beyond. The left side held a dressing table and banks of drawers set into the cavity behind the false wall. But his bed held centre stage. It appeared to be a king and then some. It was massive and she wondered how he’d ever find anyone in that bed if he was on one side and he had a girl there on the other. But she was seeing things from her perspective, not from Daniel’s. Yes this room, this whole roof space was set out for lovers but these two would be mates for life. This was not only a space where Daniel and his wife would make love, it was also a room where their brood would spend stormy nights, watching lightning fork across the sky, listening to the thunder as it rolled overhead, hiding under the covers with the children when they were too scared to look. This was a space where his family could feel safe together. But she was here for another reason she reminded herself.  
  
Tentatively Betty began looking through the drawers of underwear and socks, t-shirts and jumpers trying to find the one item that she knew a man like Daniel Meade wouldn’t be without, even if he was dressing down these days. He’d still want to look good, it was in his nature, so where would it be? She sat on the edge of the bed trying to decide where to look next and searching the room for any clues.  _Perhaps the dressing table; that would probably be a good place to start._  
  
After drawing out the stool from beneath the table, she sat down and began absently scouring the drawers, hoping that it would be there so she could get out of his space. Nothing. “Come on Daniel, you must have a hair dryer somewhere.” One more drawer, if she didn’t find one there she’d have to go and buy one or borrow one but tonight her hair would be air dried, which meant frizz. She opened it, it seemed cavernous in respect to all the other drawers in the room but as the drawer drew out she saw her prize, a chrome plated professional dryer with all the bells and whistles. “I’m surprised it’s not encrusted with diamonds.”  
  
Pulling it out and putting it on the dresser in front of her, Betty was just about to close the drawer when she noticed a leather bound book simply embossed ‘Photos’. She took it out placing the book on the glass topped surface. She opened the cover. Inside were pictures of Daniel with Molly in various scenarios, not least their wedding day when she couldn’t help but smile at the happy couple. It had been so sad when Molly had passed away. Daniel had been beside himself, and Betty, like always, had been there to help him through his grief. She turned over another couple of pages; there were various family portraits, ones with DJ, a couple of Claire, and even one of Alexis pre-op. She smiled; he really cared about every one of them, even if he was never quite sure of how to let them know.  
  
She had closed the book and was about to replace it from where she had found it when an envelope fell out from somewhere towards the back. She picked it up, tuned it over, read the handwritten inscription of his name. Deep in her heart she knew she shouldn’t look but curiosity got the better of her; it had to be of great importance otherwise why would Daniel have placed it in with the photographs? And Daniel would probably never forgive her if he ever found out that she’d seen it but the compulsion to look could not be rid.  
  
Gently, she slipped the velum paper out from within its cover and carefully opened the page. She read the signature first, ‘All my love forever, Molly’. “Oh my God.” She really shouldn’t have been doing it but she couldn’t stop herself. She began to read.  
  
 _My dearest Daniel_  
  
 _I know we’ve talked and joked about my death, or rather I’ve joked in an attempt to keep things light hearted. I did however underestimate your determination to see every last second I have left is the best that I can possibly live. I can only thank you for being so very patient with me and making the last few months of my life exhilarating. Without you I would’ve been laid to rest, forgotten, but you made me a cover girl and I can honestly say that was the highlight of my life._  
  
“Like when he made me a catwalk model.”  
  
 _As I know you’ve found it hard to talk with me about what will happen in your future, I decided that I needed to write this letter to you in order to make my true feelings known. I love you Daniel Meade and I know that I will always live on in your heart. But I have a simple request. Please do not give up on love once I am gone. You may not want to face up to my death very quickly once I am no longer around …_  
  
“You were right there Molly. Community of the Phoenix, tch.”  
  
… _but you will eventually have to if you are ever going to expect to live a long, full life. And I do wish that for you, you deserve that. You are a very devoted and caring lover and I am only too happy to pass on the torch to a woman worthy of those attributes._  
  
 _I see you with someone that is kind and has a huge heart, someone that will do anything for you, support you, will always be there and love you for who you are, not what you have. Someone who can see beyond the money and the Meade name and reputation. Someone that knows and understands you as well as or better than you do yourself. Someone like Betty. She has all the goodness and kindness that you deserve Daniel._  
  
“Me? I was a mess back then, why me?”  
  
 _I will always own a piece of your heart but I also know that there is room in your heart for another. As long as you make a good choice your life will be fulfilled and that is all I wish for you, that you are happy and that you get everything that your heart desires. You will have a family one day Daniel, I’m sure of it, obviously I’m sorry that I will not be the mother of your children but I will watch over them and keep them safe as if they were. You will never have to worry about them._  
  
 _Take care my love, find your perfect partner, snap her up and make her yours as soon as you’re able to. I give you my blessing._  
  
 _All my love forever_  
  
 _Molly_  
  
As tears welled in Betty’s eyes she found it hard to fold the letter back up and put it back into its envelope, her fingers fumbling with the task. Then she had to put it back in the book but she had no idea where it had come from. Turning back to the page where she’d last seen Daniel and his brother as young children playing on the beach, she turned to the next, gasping at the pictures. She continued turning page after page unsure of how to process the material that was before her. No longer were there family portraits or photos of Molly. Now the book only contained pages and pages of pictures of her, from right back when they had first met five and a half years previously to her in her green bridesmaid’s dress, from her leaving party, editorial pictures cut from her magazine. He may not have spoken to her over those twelve months apart but he’d certainly been keeping up with how she was doing. And, she had to admit to it, it was a lot more than she’d been doing. This place hadn’t just been about setting in foundations, or about creating an environment he could raise a family in. It had been about her. Everything he had done, was even still doing, had been all for her. Yes, he obviously wanted her and any of his subsequent actions based upon that could be construed as selfish, but he’d done everything without her knowledge, just hoping that he would one day be able to give her everything that she would need based on only his feelings for her.  
  
Placing the envelope in between the pages, she closed the book and returned it to its home before picking up the hairdryer and rushing from the room. So Christina and Claire’s theories were true. He loved her, and by the looks of things, more than she could ever have imagined. So much it almost frightened her but she was a Suarez and nothing fazed her for too long. All she needed to know was if she ever going to get him to show his true feelings now that she’d screwed everything up?  
  
She really needed to think about things, maybe she needed to clear her head and she wasn’t going to be able to do that very easily by sitting in Daniel’s house. She needed perspective. Hopefully, Philippe would give her some, as well as Natalie and some of the other staff. Even some of the locals if she had time. She’d like to find out what had been going on with Daniel during those months she’d not heard from him, and there was no better place to start than by chatting with the one man who had helped Daniel change course. She got herself together, fixed her hair and face, threw on a black and white stripped t-shirt, cobalt cotton turn-ups and a pair of denim converse before making her way into the town, hoping that Philippe could give her an insight into Daniel Meade and the man he had turned into over their mutual sabbatical.

.oOo.

  
It was a lovely warm evening and Philippe had managed to secure them a table out on the terrace. “We can eat whilst the waves crash against the causeway,” Philippe said as he helped Betty into her seat. “I always miss the sea when I’m away from it. What do you miss about New York, Betty?”  
  
“My family.” She stated.  
  
Philippe was intrigued, “not the Empire State or Chinatown, not Central Park, even?”  
  
She shook her head, “no, none of those things. I mean it’s kind of odd knowing I can’t just hop on a F train and take a stroll round the park but it’s not what I miss the most. I’m a simple girl from Jackson Heights, Queens; I don’t need familiar places just familiar faces.”  
  
“Very good, Betty.” Philippe said, grinning, “I suppose those things mean little to me as I ‘ave no family to speak of. My parents are dead, my brother ‘ates me and my ex-wife ran off with my best friend.”  
  
“I’m sorry Philippe,” he shrugged.  _Well that’s perspective_ , she thought. “Tell me about you and Alexis?”  
  
“Its early days, but I do really like ‘er. She makes my blood sing, you know? When I see ‘er, she mesmerises me. ‘Er voice is like ’oney, so sweet, so pure. I am falling for ‘er.”  
  
“She really gets under your skin then?”  
  
“Oui, oui. I ‘ave known ‘er but briefly, and I think already I could really love ‘er.” He looked out across the water seemingly in the direction of Paris. “Betty, could I ask you something?” Betty nodded, “I know about Alexis, she ‘as told me everything. But I don’t know why she did it; can you ‘elp fill in the missing pieces?”  
  
“I’m not sure, Philippe. I remember Daniel telling me that she’d always felt wrong, as her former self, but other than that I just couldn’t tell you. We never really had heart to hearts, she always seemed so confident like nothing could take her down, which made her distant. Apart from her father’s death though, that really shook her up. Oh and when people found out about her history and started cancelling their ad space with Mode. All in all she seemed together though, I just imagined that she wanted to try and be the woman that she’d become rather than focus on the man that she’d left behind.”  
  
“Like starting over?” He held his glass up to her.  
  
“Exactly, like starting over.” She chinked her glass against his. “Philippe I have to ask, are you strong enough for the both of you, I mean I know she left America to be with DJ but I also think she ran away from the hurt and pain. The French appear to be much more supportive than Americans are but I fear that should she receive such censure and ridicule again, it may send her over the edge.”  
  
Philippe understood her concern, “don’t think I never thought about that. I did, a lot. But I see ‘er for what she is. I do not know what she was or ‘ave any notion to see ‘er in any other way than I do when she’s with me now. To me, she is a beautiful woman with a teenage son, who desperately needs someone to love ‘er. That is all, and by God if anyone ever so much as disrespected Alexis or myself they would certainly feel my wrath.”  
  
“I guess you really like her, huh?”  
  
“I do, Betty, I do.” He paused “So it is like ‘er brother too, no. Although ‘is own ‘starting over’ was not quite as drastic as ‘is sister.”  
  
“Tell me about it, his ‘starting over’ I mean.”  
  
“You don’t know?”  
  
“I haven’t spoken to Daniel since the night of my leaving party, a full two days before I left New York for London.”  
  
“When was that?”  
  
“March thirteenth, twenty ten.”  
  
“Oh wow, naughty Daniel. That must of ‘urt, Betty.”  
  
“It did, a lot. But nothing more than several weeks ago when I met up with him again.”  
  
“Wait, you were the girl on the beach.”  
  
“He told you about that?”  
  
“’E’s my business partner and my greatest friend Betty, of course ‘e told me. ‘E thought ‘e’d really messed things up.”  
  
“No, no. It wasn’t Daniel’s fault. It was mine. I shouldn’t have spoken to him in the way that I had. If I’d handled it differently then maybe we would be talking again.”  
  
“Oh. What I ‘ave to say might make things worse once you ‘ear them.”  
  
“What could you mean?”  
  
“’Onestly, if I’d known ‘e was chasing you I’d ‘ave told ‘im to go get ‘is girl.” She looked at him quizzically. “When I met ‘im I was sitting next to ‘im in the departure lounge in JFK. An associate ‘ad suggested I meet with a friend of ‘is in order to get some poorly needed capital for my business but I was out of luck. The businessman was not at all up to the suggestion and I ‘ad no other options. I was a broken man. I ‘ad little money, I’d eaten nothing all day and Daniel ‘elps me. ‘E buys me dinner, a drink and we chat. I tell ‘im  ‘ow I 'ave suddenly reached rock bottom. ‘E tells me that ‘e is looking to make a fresh start in a new country and needs to find something to do. It is a perfect match, no?”  
  
Betty nodded, “when was this?  
  
“The beginning of April, ‘e was staying in a swanky ‘otel in Mayfair when I met up with ‘im next. ‘E told me that if ‘e liked what ‘e saw ‘e would invest ‘is money and ‘is time into the business. When I questioned why, ‘e told me that ‘e was wishing to find a place to settle down. ‘E wanted to get things into place before ‘e moved on to the next step in ‘is life as other parts of it were not yet ready for ‘im. Like I said, if I’d known it was because ‘e was avoiding following you, I would’ve told ‘im to do that first in fear of losing you completely.”  
  
“You are wise, Philippe.”  
  
He smiled, “No, I’m French. Matters of the ‘eart are of the upmost importance. They come before anything else. But Daniel is a proud man, Frenchmen are not so much. ‘E obviously felt that to offer you a ‘ome, security, this was more important to be in place first before ‘e gave you ‘is ‘eart and earnt yours in return.”  
  
“I’m still just Betty from Queens, I have my job, I have the security that we both desire. It wouldn’t have stopped me loving him just because he didn’t have the business and the home, I’d probably have loved him more because of it.”  
  
“Then you should tell ‘im, when the opportunity presents itself. I think there may be a little ‘ump to overcome initially, 'e was very upset when ‘e left for Paris with his sister but I’m sure you’ll both find your way eventually. Be strong Betty from Queens, once ‘e knows ‘e ‘as your love ‘e will be yours forever.”  
  
She leant over the table kissing Philippe on the cheek, “thanks Philippe. For  everything.”


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Betty had to sit down. After giving herself the afternoon off work, especially as Philippe was out from the boatyard for the afternoon at the university, she’d decided to go grab herself a Salcombe Regatta Guide and have some fun. She’d started off at the quay, watching the children in the crabbing contest. Many of the youngsters, although deftly encouraged and in some cases helped by their parents, still had only caught a few crabs on their lines. She did notice that there was one little lad pulling them out rather rapidly and when she saw his bucket it was half full when most of the other children only had one or two. She could only imagine that either he was just in the right spot or that he was using the best bait.  
  
“He’s using razor clam,” she was told conspiratorially. Turning, she noticed one of the employees from the boatyard.  
  
“And how do you know that?” She asked him.  
  
“He’s my boy, I taught him.” His eyes shone with pride before he stuck out his hand, “I’m Jason. Jay to my friends.”  
  
“Betty. It’s nice to meet you Jay.” She looked back towards the line of children, “the others are a little dispirited. Has your son won this competition often?”  
  
“Every year since he started about 4 years ago. If the truth be known it’s in the blood. My father, grandfather, great grandfather before him all had crabbing boats here in Salcombe. But most of these kids are grockles, first time they’ve ever tried.”  
  
“Grockle?”  
  
“You know, holidaymaker. Vacationer.”  
  
“Oh, I see.” She smiled. Jay was extremely charismatic and he knew it, she’d have to watch her step. “So, Jay. You work at the boatyard right?”  
  
“Yep, been there fifteen years, man and boy. Started out as a Saturday job, ‘cause I knew there would be no money in crabbing, it was starting to decline. So went to Plymouth Uni, got my degree in Marine Technology and have been designing Wayfarer boats ever since.”  
  
“That’s very impressive.”  
  
“Thank you. But what about you Betty, how did you end up spending this rather fine week of fun, entertainment and beautiful sunshine checking out the people I work for.”  
  
“I am doing an investigative piece on their new yachts and how, if successful, these boats will become the preferred choice of the London Mayor when the city council adds them to the city’s fleet in the next 12 months.”  
  
“You know how to make an awful subject sound interesting.”  
  
“I’d like to think that it’s very important to report on how two foreigners are willing to put their money into a, if I can be so bold, dying British industry in order to keep a family business running in a localised area that needs input from the outside world, otherwise this trade would likely be killed off in this part of the country.”  
  
“That told me.”  
  
“Jay, you obviously stay at Wayfarer because they’re either paying you a lot of money or you just can’t bear to leave this lovely town.”  
  
“Can’t go, ex-missus won’t move away from her dad. I have to stay local in order to see my son; I’d have to move quite a way away in order to do this job somewhere else.”  
  
“You seem a little down on Monsieur Valois and Mr Meade.”  
  
“I can’t complain. I guess I’m just jealous. Philippe and Daniel are great people to work for and if I ever have to go and sort out an issue with my ex or with Sammy then I can just tell them and I can go.” He sighed, “I just wanted a piece of it. I’d hoped that Philippe would offer me some kind of buy in but by the time he came back from America he had Daniel’s money and he didn’t need me.”  
  
“Is it your design, you know, for the boat that’s being tested?”  
  
“Yeah, my design, but the material technology, that’s all down to Philippe. He’s a master with synthetics.”  
  
“Have you ever spoken to either one of them? I’m sure Daniel would be more than happy to take a meeting with you if you really wanted to become a partner.”  
  
“You sound like you could get me that meeting. Sounds like you’ve already pencilled it into his diary.”  
  
She laughed, “call that force of habit.” He looked confused. “I worked for Daniel in New York, I was his assistant for 4 years.”  
  
Jay laughed out loud; it was pleasurable to hear even though it was guttural. “Does that make you Danny’s girl now? I mean, since you’re not working for him anymore.”  
  
“We’re very good friends. And if you asked in order to ask me out then you have to know, I am seeing someone.”  
  
“Of course you are, pretty girl like you. No, it wasn’t that, I’m already married again. I just wondered if you had any influence. I think I’d like to take a meeting with Daniel, just as an initial sound out, get his thoughts. See I know his sister’s coming in with some of her money too and I’d rather hoped that I could at least play a part before it was too late.”  
  
“I’ll see what I can do Jay. Look I think Sam’s won.” She pointed out before slipping away from the congratulations that ensued. Betty promised herself that she would talk to Daniel about meeting with Jay, it was the least she could do, and Jay definitely looked like he needed a break. If she could help out then so much the better.  
  
Betty looked in her programme; nothing else was planned for that afternoon so she decided to have a go at the treasure hunt. After reading the rules, she started walking up to the high street and to where the shops started. The idea was to look in each window and try to find the one object that didn’t fit.  _How hard could it be?_ She thought as she looked through the list of participating shops and found the closest one to where she was currently located.  
  
 _Boudoir_  was the first shop on the list and looking through the shop door she realised that they sold mostly lingerie and women’s toiletries, so she was looking for something that wasn’t related to either one of those kinds of item. She searched the window sill, the mannequins, and the display unit and then she saw it. Hiding just behind a carnival mask was a silver toy Mercedes. That had to be it. She wrote it on her sheet before moving on to the next.  
  
It was about half past four by the time she looked at her watch and decided that she was definitely in need of a break. So far, she’d only managed to get five answers on her sheet from thirty two. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so easy on her own, especially as from half the windows she’d already looked into she couldn’t really work out what they sold. She couldn’t complain though, she was definitely having fun.  
  
She plonked herself down outside the front of the tea rooms and waited to order. Spotting Natalie coming out of the grocery shop on the other side of the road she called out to her and waved. Natalie noticed and trotted across to her. “Hi Betty, you been enjoying yourself?”  
  
“I have, and I’m just about to order my first cream tea. Would you like to join me? I’d really like to catch up with you if you’d like.”  
  
“I’d love to, thanks.” Natalie said, joining Betty at the table. “Have you seen everything you need to with the boatyard?”  
  
“Just about. Two cream teas please,” she ordered from the waitress. “I just wish I could’ve spent a little more time with some of you, but I guess that’s the nature of the job, especially when you all seem so busy at the moment.”  
  
“Daniel’s being there has definitely helped. I’m so glad he decided to stay on, you know, with buying the cottage, doing it up, getting involved with the local community.”  
  
“Like what?” Betty asked, surprised.  
  
“Oh, all sorts. He helps out at the primary school sometimes; his wife was a teacher so I guess he feels like he needs to contribute.”  
  
“So he gives them money?”  
  
“If he does we don’t know about it, but no, he gives his time. During term he’ll go and read for the youngest tots on a Wednesday afternoon. He loves Meg and Mog.”  
  
“Meg and Mog?” Betty’s eyebrows arched upwards.  
  
“Yeah, they’re children’s book about a witch and her cat. Her spells never seem to go well; he’ll normally come in to work on a Thursday sharing Meg’s tale of woe from the previous afternoons read. I suppose you don’t have them in America?”  
  
“I don’t remember them. So what else does Daniel get up to?”  
  
“He normally spends some time on a Sunday at the old folk’s home; sometimes they ask him to call the bingo numbers for them. They say he’s quite good now he’s picked up the lingo.” She noticed Betty’s expression, “they call out nicknames for some of the numbers.”  
  
“Oh, I see.”  
  
“And he dances with some of the old dears at their afternoon tea dances once a month; I think Olivia has taken him under her wing and taught him how to waltz properly.”  
  
“Wow,” Betty silently berated herself for her awe, but this was totally a side of Daniel she’d never envisaged and it felt good to get to know it. It had always been Betty who would do anything for anybody, now it seemed that their lives had totally turned full circle. She was all about herself and getting the job done. He was about helping and caring and being there when he was needed.  
  
“I know, right? They even made him an honorary member of the school PTA.”  
  
“But he hasn’t got any children?”  
  
“No, they just felt that he would be a great spokesperson for the school. The council has threatened to close it down twice in the last 12 months, each time Daniel has fought it and we still have it. They decided to allow him to give the prizes out for the children’s sports day tomorrow because of it, and they want him to help judge the sandcastles on Saturday.”  
  
“He’s a real tour de force.” Betty said quietly, “do you like him Natalie?”  
  
“How do you mean?”  
  
“Well, I know he’s your boss but would you ever consider …?”  
  
She left her question hanging in the air as their tea arrived. “God no, for one thing he’s far too old for me. And for another he’s all about the job, he wouldn’t cross that line. Besides which he’s totally in love with someone else.”  
  
“Really?” Betty asked, unsure of what she was doing with the scone that had appeared in front of her.  
  
“Really, not that anyone knows who she is. He won’t tell anyone and he’s not been seen with anyone local from the town.” Natalie split the scone in half before spreading the cream first and then the jam on top of each part. “This is the Devonian way to have a cream tea. Cream first, jam on top.”  
  
Betty followed suit, biting into the first half. “Oh that’s delicious, but you couldn’t have too much could you?”  
  
“Oh, I don’t know.” Natalie licked her lips “Would be rude to leave any.”  
  
“Don’t worry, they’ll definitely be nothing left of mine.” She giggled; she hadn’t enjoyed herself so much since … well since she’d moved to London all that time ago. How could one place be so different, she may have been two hundred and forty miles away from London and the place just as expensive to live in but the pace of life was so leisurely, the people so friendly. Daniel had made a wonderful discovery moving here. “So you think Daniel’s in love with a mystery woman?”  
  
“Oh yes, but like I say he never talks about her or anything, just throws himself into his work and his commitments with the school and the oldies like he’s got nothing else better to do. I mean I thought at one time it was because of his wife. She died see, not long after they married, she had cancer I think. Anyway, I just thought ‘hey, he misses his wife’ but after I found him in his office crying on their anniversary I spoke to him about it. He confided that although he missed his wife he also missed a special someone else very much too.”  
  
Betty’s heart went out to him, how could she have been so stupid as to have not listened to him when he wanted to talk. Then she remembered, she’d have an opportunity to speak with him tonight if she felt the moment was right; because it was Thursday and he was on his way home.  
  
“Have you been up to much this afternoon then?” Natalie broke through her thoughts.  
  
“I watched the children’s crabbing competition, Jay’s son won.”  
  
“Again! They should ban him. He’s won every year since he was six.”  
  
“Hmm, Jay told me.”  
  
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?”  
  
“He’s very charming isn’t he?”  
  
Natalie nodded, “that’s one way of putting it and what got him into trouble with his first wife.”  
  
“Oh dear, once bitten twice shy doesn’t seem to cut it with him then?”  
  
Natalie laughed, “what else you been doing?”  
  
“I’ve been trying out the treasure hunt but I’m not very good.” She showed her programme to Natalie.  
  
“Are you sure it’s a dead bee in the chandlery?”  Natalie smirked.  
  
Betty shrugged, “I hoped it was.”  
  
“Tell you what, why don’t you join me on Saturday whilst the sandcastles are being built, that way we can go around the town checking out the windows before watching the judging and the prize giving.”  
  
“That sounds good.”  
  
“I’ll bring Tom with me, my boyfriend. He’ll be needed up the rugby club that afternoon in time for the tug-o-war, you can join us for that too if you’d like to.”  
  
“Tug-o-war?”  
  
“Two teams of strapping, burley men pull a rope, attempting to outwit and outmanoeuvre the other team in order to make them fall. A bit like an arm wrestle but on grass with sixteen pairs of muscly arms and legs doing the work. It’s always great fun and the rugby club generally win but the fisherman had a good chance last year.”  
  
“Ok, I’m in. I’d love to.” They finished their tea and said their goodbyes. She’d had a wonderful day so far and just hoped it would continue, after all there were fireworks planned in the town that evening. Betty crossed the road to the grocers in order to pick up a few bits for dinner before going back to Blue Lagoon. There was nothing like a home cooked meal when you’d been away somewhere and she hoped that Daniel would appreciate it too.

.oOo.

Daniel was quiet. In Philippe’s opinion he was too quiet. “Listen Daniel, I’m sorry about this mess with Betty but I couldn’t put ‘er anywhere else. It’s the regatta this week and everywhere was full up.”  
  
“I know Philippe, I’m sorry. It’s not that you put her up at mine, that’s fine. I just wish you’d given me some kind of warning. A little time so that I could’ve prepared myself.”  
  
“A little time so you could’ve stayed where you were for a couple more days, you mean.” Philippe threw back at him, “I couldn’t afford for you to stay away any longer. We’ve ‘ad the final results in and they are magnificent. The tweaks Jay ‘as made to the design are far superior to any amendment to the composite structure that I could’ve made. ‘E’s worked a miracle, Daniel. ‘E deserves a raise if nothing more.”  
  
“Then we’ll look into that, but a couple of days wouldn’t have made that much difference surely?”  
  
“That’s what Betty said too. Come on Daniel, grow a set will you? You love ‘er, she loves you. Get on and propose to ‘er already, it’s what she’s waiting for.”  
  
Daniel had to smile. “And I thought Frenchmen were ever the romantics.”  
  
“We are, but we still ‘ave needs.” Daniel’s eyebrows shot skyward, “not that I’d be like that with Alexis, you understand.”  
  
“Of course not.” Daniel grinned, “what my sister gets up to is, quite frankly, up to her. Just don’t hurt her otherwise I will have something to say about it.”  
  
“Daniel, do not worry. I ‘ave no intention of ‘urting Alexis. She is my soul.” He said with spirit. “Like Betty’s is yours.”  
  
Daniel nodded. He had to agree with Philippe even if he wasn’t quite feeling it. But she was in his house and maybe, just maybe he had the slightest chance that he could speak with her, tell her how he was feeling, talk about why he hadn’t gone to her as soon as he’d first arrived in the UK.  
  
“Did she like the house?”  
  
“Daniel, that isn’t the priority ‘ere.”  
  
“All the same I’d still like to know.”  
  
“Americans.” He scolded, “yes, she loved the ‘ouse. Well she loved the ‘allway.”  
  
“The hallway?”  
  
“I merely showed ‘er in, I did not walk ‘er through every room. She did say that she felt it was a ‘ome and not just a ‘ouse. That’s good, oui?”  
  
“Oui, yes.”  
  
“I also ‘ad to put ‘er right, she thought it was Alexis’ place to begin with.”  
  
“But as long as she felt safe and happy then I guess that’s ok.”  
  
Philippe shrugged, “I guess.”  
  
Daniel fell silent momentarily, wishing to God he’d driven himself. Philippe wasn’t always so fast but today he was definitely a speed freak. “How do you know she loves me?”  
  
“’Ow do I know, you’re ‘aving to ask me.”  
  
“Well, you’ve spent the last few days with her. You’ve also just told me she loves me and yet you’ve not offered any explanation of how you know.”  
  
“Love is love, Daniel. It does not need explaining.”  
  
He had to admit, Philippe was right. Daniel knew he had started to like Betty before the makeover of the century, and those pictures he had of her in all those goofy outfits, not long ago they’d made him laugh but now he found them adorable. “Please, even if it’s the tiniest detail.”  
  
“OK.” Philippe sighed, “She talks about you and asks after you all of the time, it’s quite annoying actually. Sometimes, she gets this faraway look when I mention something good about you. But mostly it was ‘er reaction to the news that you would be ‘ome today. She believes she was the one that screwed up when you last met, not you.”  
  
“Selfless to the last.”  
  
“Precisely, you could do no wrong, she only see’s good in you.”  
  
“Thanks Philippe, that will do.” So he had a glimmer of hope to cling on to. That would be enough. For now.  
  
As they drove through the town he saw her sitting talking to Natalie. That was good, she was making friends. A transition from London to Devon didn’t seem as implausible as it had before.  
  
He ran inside the house, up the stairs and into his room, his clothes discarded at the foot of the bathroom door. He quickly showered and dressed in a pair of navy combat shorts and a pale blue t-shirt before going into the bedroom and finding his cologne.  
  
At first nothing appeared to have been touched until he saw the crumpled counterpane. Not that he minded, this was Betty not some stalker that he had no clue of how to deal with. She must have been here for a reason other than to smell his pillow or rifle through his sock drawer, although the thought that she could have,  
made him tingle.  
  
He sat at the dressing table, opening the drawer that held his hairdryer. It was gone. “So that’s what you were after.”  As he started to close the drawer he noticed that the book had been placed in the drawer with the back cover facing up, that hadn’t been how he’d left it. He took it out, opened it up and flicked through the pages. It all seemed ok but the letter from Molly had been put back in the wrong place and the very corner of the paper was sticking out of the envelope as if it had been forced back in quickly. “Oh Betty.” He said, as he absently traced the outline of her face in the bridesmaid picture with his fingertips.  
  
The sudden bang of the front door jolted him back to the here and now, could that have been Betty coming back after her day out? There was only one way to find out. He put the envelope back into the book where it was normally kept, put the book back in its rightful place and walked down the stairs.  
  
It didn’t take him too long to find her, the clanging of pots and the sudden rush of tap water announced that she was in the kitchen. He walked past the discarded handbag and shoes, into the living room and stood at the bar watching her, taking in the rose pink silk top that billowed slightly over her body before being pulled in at her hips, dark denim three quarter length leggings covered her legs and she’d left her hair to hang loose. He thrilled at watching how comfortable she looked padding around in bare feet in his kitchen whilst putting something together for them to eat. “Hi.”  
  
She whirled around to face him, her smile wide and welcoming. “Hi, are you ok with pasta, I’m making spaghetti bolognaise for us?”  
  
“Sounds good. I was also wondering if you had the hairdryer?” He motioned to his drying hair.  
  
“Oh yeah, I borrowed it after I’d left mine at home. It’s in my” she stopped short, “in the front guest room.”  
  
He grinned, “it’s ok Betty, it’s nearly dry now anyway. I just really wanted a drink before I check through my emails. Do you mind if I get one whilst you’re working.”  
  
“I’ll get it, coffee, cream with two, right.”  
  
“Um, no, a tea please. Black not too strong, no sugar.”  
  
Betty supressed an urge to laugh, there was immersing yourself into another culture and then … “Ok, where will you be, I’ll bring it through.”  
  
“The study,” he said before crossing the hallway and into his home office. He could get used to this; if only he knew it was going to be constantly real. Betty making dinner and bringing him a drink whilst he got on with some work. Eating side by side at the table, talking about their respective day. His hand cupping her face before kissing her. “Come on Daniel, you need to get it together here.”  
  
“Where would you like me to put it?” Betty asked as she walked into his office.  
  
“Just here,” he pointed to the coaster on his left.  
  
She moved around him and placed the mug down in the allotted spot, he could feel her warmth so close to him. “Like old times.”  
  
“Hmm?”  
  
“This, me bringing you your drink, it’s like old times.”  _Happier times._  
  
“Yes.” He wanted to touch her, wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her, take her upstairs.  
  
She moved away from him, “dinner will be ready in about ten minutes, is that ok?” The feeling of loss was huge.  
  
“Absolutely, I’ll come through once I’ve finished looking through these last few messages.”  
  
“Perfect.” And she was gone again.  
  
The last three emails stayed as they were whilst he continued to listen to the hubbub that was going on elsewhere in his house. He couldn’t concentrate knowing that Betty was homemaking in his kitchen and in such a leisurely way too. She’d kicked off her shoes, looked relaxed. Anyone coming in from the outside would already assume they were a couple, married and happy.  
  
He shut his laptop and ventured back to the kitchen, she was just finishing off when he arrived so he decided to take a bottle of Soave out of the fridge and open it for them, pouring the fresh looking white into two glasses and placing the bottle in a cooler on the table. He sat down as she placed a plate in front of him, placing her own at ninety degrees to his, she was going to sit around the corner from him rather than across the table. This looked good. After returning with the salad she’d quickly put together, she took her seat, “I hope you like it, please dig in.”  
  
“He picked up his spoon and fork deftly pulling at the spaghetti and twisting around his fork until he was able to pop the morsel into his mouth. He began to chew, allowing the flavours to tantalise his taste buds, “Betty this is wonderful, I can’t believe you pulled off this triumph in my kitchen.”  
  
“You’re too funny,” she countered, “you have enough utensils and pans in that kitchen to start up a professional business. Some of the stuff you’ve got in there Papi wouldn’t even know what to do with and he’s a chef.”  
  
Daniel laughed, “I wouldn’t know, I’ve used it twice. Once to boil some eggs and once to warm up a tin of soup.”  
  
“What have you been living on?”  
  
  
“Hand outs, scraps form the trash ... oh seriously you mean?” He joked, “I go out, I make contacts. To be honest I go to the pub about five nights a week, go to Philippe’s on a Saturday and then pick a restaurant for the seventh.”  
  
“You have that kitchen and you go out. Why put a kitchen in if you’re not going to use it. It’s pointless not to mention wasteful on so many levels.”  
  
“That’s exactly what Alexis said, she’s used it more than I have and she’s only spent a week in here.”  
  
Momentarily they stopped talking; it was enough to know the other was there. Betty broke the silence. “I’m sorry, about the hairdryer.”  
  
“That’s ok. It’s there to be used,” he smiled. “I thought you were going to apologise for something else.”  
  
“Like what?”  
  
“Like flipping through the photo album in the same drawer, like reading Molly’s letter.”  _Like stealing my heart._  
  
“Oh Daniel,” her eyes filled with tears as she began to ramble, “I’m so sorry for everything that’s happened recently. For going through your drawers and finding the photo album. Curiosity just got the better of me and I looked. Then the letter fell out and I just couldn’t help myself.”  
  
“Betty it’s ok.”  
  
He placed his hand on her arm; she pulled it away as if it had been burnt badly by his touch. “No it’s not, how can you trust me ever again. We’re supposed to be friends and all I keep doing recently is not listen to anything you want to say to me or rifle through your things.” She got up from where she sat and ran upstairs.  
  
Daniel closed his eyes, why was everything always so tough for them. She had cooked a wonderful meal, something they could just have enjoyed together and he had to go and spoil it. He cleaned everything away, put the kettle on and found two chamomile teabags at the back of the cupboard; hopefully she’d recognise this was a peace offering.  
  
He climbed the stairs and crossed the landing to the room that she occupied, from inside he could hear muffled talking and the occasional sob as she was obviously telephoning someone about what had just occurred. He drew closer, attempting to hear the conversation more clearly but it was difficult to ascertain what was being said through her tears and the thick wooden door.  
  
Everything now appeared to be calm. He knocked on the door waiting for a response but nothing came, should he go in or should he just leave it. What would Philippe do? Or any other sane human being for that matter? She hadn’t told him to go away so he walked in.  
  
Betty was sat huddled into the wicker chair in the far corner of the room, her arms around her knees. She’d put on the bedside light but even through the darkness he could see that her eyes were red and swollen from her crying and that there were tear stains on her cheeks. “Betty, I’m sorry. We never can seem to catch a break.”  
  
He walked around the bed and placed the two mugs on the half-moon table that sat between the two windows of the room before seating himself in the window seat as close as he could get to her, all the while her eyes fixed on a spot somewhere outside the window. “Betty please, we have to sort this out. My making a stupid joke is not the kind of thing that should make you run away from me. I can’t change what’s happened since you left New York but I can make amends. If you’ll let me that is. The last thing I want is to lose you as a friend.”  
  
She looked over to him, “I don’t want that, what we shared before was so magical that I really don’t want to lose that either.”  
  
“Can we start over? Please?”  
  
She smiled, “yes.” Her voice was hopeful if a little weak. “I’d really like that.” She motioned towards the mugs on the table. “What’s that?”  
  
“Chamomile, it’s supposed to be calming and relaxing.”  
  
“I think we both need a lot of that at the moment.”  
  
Daniel grinned, “I agree, Miss Suarez.” He watched her unfold her legs from her body, get up, lift up the two mugs and pass one to him before sitting next to him on the window seat. “Oh look, the fireworks are starting.” She mused as she sat back into him, his arm moving up to rest around her shoulder as she snuggled into his. As she sipped her tea she watched the sparkles as they sank back to earth above their heads, smiling at the patterns in wonderment as they kept changing shape and colour. It was more than Daniel could do than to control himself, but it made him realise that her enjoyment of a mixture of gunpowder and metal was just one more thing he would always love about her. He bent his head to hers kissing her hair as she allowed him to pull her closer into his embrace.  
  
 _Next year we’ll be watching these from upstairs in our bed,_ he decided,  _whilst we’re making some of our own._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Betty woke up feeling far more refreshed than she’d been in a long time. Although, she couldn’t quite understand how she’d ended up in bed. She was still wearing yesterday’s clothes after all; Daniel must’ve carried her to her bed before retiring himself.  
  
She smiled, thinking about how things had turned around; how she and Daniel had sat quietly together on the window seat sipping tea and watching the fireworks light up the sky overhead in gold, silver, green, blue and red. She remembered how afterwards they’d just talked, sat in the same spot, she encased within his arms, his head resting on top of hers occasionally dropping feather light kisses in her hair, mainly conversing about what had happened to each one of them since they’d crossed the channel. She must’ve dropped off when he’d started to tell her about his first day at work because she couldn’t remember any plausible narrative that would go with that scenario. She’d have to apologise for that.  
  
The house seemed strangely quiet considering there was now the two of them occupying it and as she quickly crossed the landing to shower and clean her teeth she just couldn’t stop thinking about how good it had felt laying in his arms and feeling safe, his spicy cologne warming her senses. Yesterday she’d only hoped that she could spend a little time with him, now it was all she could do to think of anything other than spending the whole weekend with him.  
  
He’d left her the hairdryer; he’d said he could do without it for the time being; so she dried her hair before plaiting the sides and pulling the ends into a loose bun at the nape of her neck. She looked through her wardrobe carefully picking out a cropped pair of stone chinos, a navy vest and a powder blue short sleeved cardigan with pearl buttons. Her converse would finish off her outfit, if only she could remember where she’d left them.  
  
She stepped back out onto the landing as soon as she’d applied her natural looking make up, she didn’t want to overdo it. Then she had to return to the bathroom as that’s where she’d left her perfume. She really was a goofball when she was in love.  
  
She stopped at the top of the stairs trying to hear any movement from above but with all of the glass doors before anyone reached Daniel’s bedroom, she figured that she’d not hear very much from that part of the house. She skipped down the stairs, her eyes landing on the boot rack by the front door, her shoes having now been found a space there. As she looked up she saw that her bag was also hanging from a coat hook.  _How thoughtful._  
  
Making her way through to the kitchen she checked the kettle had enough water before putting it on. She crossed the flags to the fridge freezer and was just about to open the door when she saw a note attached to it.  _Betty,_ it read,  _if by the time you read this it’s still quite early, come down to the harbour and cheer me on. See you shortly, Daniel x_.  
  
Cheer him on? What was he up to? She switched the kettle off again, quickly pulled on her shoes without undoing the laces, made sure she had her key in her purse and ran out of the house and down to the quay. Crowds of people lined the street. She looked at her watch, eight fifteen am. What on earth had possessed all of these people to turn up at such an early hour? She wandered further up the road trying to pick Daniel out but couldn’t see him. Then she heard her name being called and turned in the direction of the caller, it was Natalie and she was beckoning her over.  
  
Betty scrambled through the crowd. “Hi,” she hugged Natalie.  
  
“Hi, Betty. Are you going to watch the race?”  
  
“What race?” She looked out across the river to the beach opposite, the beach where she’d met up with Daniel, the beach that was usually only accessed by tractor from the town side. “What the heck?”  
  
“They’re just about to start. Here you best take Daniel’s things; he’ll need them as soon as he gets out.”  
  
“Wait a minute, Daniel’s not over there is he?” Natalie nodded, “And he’s going to swim in a race?” Natalie nodded again. “How far exactly?”  
  
“To the quayside.”  
  
Betty’s mouth dropped. “He’s crossing the estuary … completely?”  
  
Natalie nodded, “do you want to take a look?” She handed Betty her binoculars.  
  
Putting them to her eyes she scanned the opposite shore, sure enough he was chatting to a guy who looked like an American footballer that didn’t require any padding. “Is he with your guy, Tom?”  
  
“Yep, he’s going to look after Daniel, you know seeing as this is the first time Daniel’s attempted this.”  
  
“That makes it sound even more dangerous than it already looks.”  
  
“Betty, don’t worry. Tom’s been doing this a long time, he knows the best route and where the currents are weakest, and he’ll keep an eye on Daniel should he get into trouble. They’ve been training together for the last few months so Daniel will be ok.”  
  
“OK, so now I’m slightly less anxious than I was before.” She looked over to him again; they were lining up ready for the starting gun to go off. What on earth had made him decide that this was a good idea? What if he got into trouble and drowned? “Oh my God.”  
  
Natalie put a hand on Betty’s arm. “Why don’t you keep following him through the glasses? That way should anything happen we can get someone out to him really quickly.  
  
Betty nodded, “thank you.”  
  
Her eyes back on Daniel she held her breath until the siren sounded and he began running down the beach. He wasn’t one of the first to reach the water but he certainly was nowhere near the last. As she watched him begin to swim using front crawl across the water she was surprised at how strong he appeared to be, he was keeping up with Tom and they were passing many of the front runners.  
  
The crowd picked up their frenzy around her, she could hear people making bets with one another, others just cheering on their loved ones. “If it’s any consolation,” Natalie began, “Tom told me last night that Daniel could win this.”  
  
“Really?” Betty asked, never dropping her gaze from Daniel. As they came closer he seemed to break apart from Tom, “what’s he doing?” She breathed out.  
  
“I think he’s going for it.” Natalie squealed. “Betty, he’s breaking away,” she jumped up and down, “he’s really going for it.”  
  
No longer needing the binoculars, she followed him as he left behind swimmer five and then number four. “Come on Daniel,” she said to herself, before picking up his stuff, forcing her way through the crowd and down the hill to the swimmers finish line. “Come on Daniel,” she shouted out, now not afraid to let anyone know her allegiance as he passed swimmer number three.  
  
Natalie had followed her down the hill and she was shouting Daniel on too, Tom was still several swimmers behind and with the finish line in sight it wasn’t likely that he would get anywhere near the top three _. “This is going to be a great finish here at the Salcombe Harbour Swim 2011, reigning champion Bobby Evans has got a fight on his hands with one of the towns newest residents, American born Daniel Meade. This may be our closest race ever in the history of the swim. Let’s give both of them a big cheer as they close in on the finish.”_  
  
Betty and Natalie had managed to get as close to the finish line as they were able to, arm in arm they were jumping and screaming out at the tops of their voices, “COME ON DANIEL, COME ON DANIEL”. Things were tense, the last few feet would be the decider, Betty was now silent, her arms taught and her body coiled like a compressed spring as she watched Daniel take the last few strokes … three … two … one. The claxon sounded and both swimmers trod water waiting for a helping hand to get them out and on to dry land. Betty could see that Daniel was breathing so hard and fast that he’d obviously done all he could to win this. Soon he was out of the harbour with a towel around his shoulders, as water cascaded from his wetsuit and on to the once dry dock. The announcer sparked into life once more.  _“I can’t quite believe this folks but it’s a photo finish. We’re just going to look at the footage and make our decision, be back with you in five.”_  
  
As soon as she was able to, Betty rushed down to where Daniel was now sat relaxing. His breathing had now regained its normal pattern and he was laughing and joking with Tom and Bobby. “Hey?”  
  
Daniel turned around and grinned, “hey.” He crossed the short distance and pulled her into a hug, oh how she’d missed them. “So you watched?”  
  
“Yes, I watched.” She thumped him playfully, “but you could’ve warned me. I was envisaging them having to pull you out.”  
  
“I trained hard,” he reasoned.  
  
“Well, I guessed that … eventually. But that wasn’t until after I’d had my second coronary.”  
  
Conspiratorially he leaned in towards her whispering, “I can read the water, I’ve done this kind of thing since I was a kid when we were taken out to the beach house. It’s the only thing that I was better at than Alexis.” Daniel laughed, “I’m sorry Betty, I’m sure you can think of a way for me to make it up to you.”  
  
“I’ll keep you posted.” She drew away from him; she didn’t fancy getting a chill as a result of being huddled into Daniel’s wetsuit for too long. “Do you want your stuff?”  
  
“Oh yeah, that would be great. Could you just do me a favour and unzip me?”  
  
“Ok,” she mumbled as he turned his back towards her in order for her to pull the zip down the length of his back, she coloured as the ever growing opening revealed more and more of his flesh. What she wouldn’t have given to run her hands over it and …  _Stop it!_  
  
“Thanks,” he said, pulling the top down and showing off his chest. He rubbed himself over with the towel in order to dry himself off. Betty only hoped she wasn’t staring, too much. “Could I have my T-shirt please?”  
  
“Um,” she dug into the bag and pulled out the lilac tee, handing it over to him. “Sorry.”  
  
He pulled it on over his head and his chest, before closing the gap between them, “no need to apologise, it’s nothing that you haven’t seen before.” Which was technically correct considering the amount of times she’d seen him in a state of undress in his loft but it wasn’t helping. He’d never looked that good before. Whenever she’d seen him he’d always seemed quite boyish but the months of training had certainly paid off, the boy had definitely turned into a man.  
  
It was at exactly the same time that the announcer had decided to tell the crowd the outcome of the first and second places that Daniel decided to extract himself from his wetsuit. As he rolled the rubber down his legs, Betty pinked, not only was she well aware of the strong, muscles that now defined his legs but that he was also only wearing a pair of speedos to cover his modesty. She scooped back into the bag pulling out his shorts and handing them over to him before he even had the chance to say anything to her. But she hadn’t missed the smirk that had plastered itself upon his face before it quickly faded and turned to something closer to adoration.  
  
 _“It is my great pleasure to announce the winner of the 2011 Salcombe Harbour Swim. Daniel Meade, and only by a hairs breadth.”_  
  
“You won!” she skipped over to him, dropping his bag at their feet. “You won,” she threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. “You won!” He lifted her up, swinging her around as he joined in their celebration. He pulled her closer, his lips so close to hers she could already taste the salt on her tongue. And then she was down on the floor again, whilst he was slipping on his shoes and walking towards the podium to take his prize.  
  
She picked up his bag and hung it over her shoulder, taking a few paces back towards the crowd in order to feel a little less conspicuous. A hand suddenly rested on her shoulder, “give ‘im time Betty’, ‘e’s afraid of frightening you off.”  
  
Philippe’s smile was warm and endearing when she looked back towards him, “thank you, Philippe.” She could live with that.  
  
Congratulations came pouring in, not least from Bobby, Philippe and Tom. As Betty finally plucked up the courage to draw nearer to Daniel once again she heard Tom say, “based on that performance you’ll be expected up at the rugby club tomorrow to be our eighth.”  
  
“Ok,” Daniel agreed, shaking the other man’s hand. “But first I’ve got to oversee the children’s sports day today so if you’ll all excuse me.”  
  
She half expected him to walk straight past her but he didn’t. His hand crept up to cup her cheek, his thumb brushing delicately over her satin smooth skin. “I’m just going home to get changed. Why don’t you stay with Natalie and I’ll meet you up at the school in say two hours?”  
  
“Alright,” she leant her face deeper into his hand before he kissed her forehead and took his bag gently from her shoulder.  
  
“I’ll see you soon then.” And he was gone.  
  
Natalie drew up to where Betty was stood still looking after Daniel. He stopped a couple of times and turned back towards her, smiling and waving as he did. “You’re her,” Natalie said, “and I’m so pleased for you. You look adorable together.”  
  
“Thanks,” Betty managed, her fingers ghosting over her mouth. She just hoped that the next time Daniel decided to kiss her, he didn’t pull away.

.oOo.

There had been several reasons why Daniel had to get home and take a cold shower, not least because of Betty’s effect upon him. If he’d kissed her as he had intended to then he wasn’t quite sure how that would’ve ended up. Obviously they couldn’t have stayed out in the open but how would it have looked if he’d just grabbed her hand and pulled her into his cave like some demented primal being especially as at that moment he’d also been expected to take his place on the podium. He’d thought he’d got past that.  
  
And clearly she had no idea how one tiny look or gesture on her part could turn him into a sex hungry caveman. He had to remind himself that this was Betty, an unworldly girl when it came down to it. Even though he realised that she was a grown woman, and she would remind him of that very succinctly if they ever talked about it, he was also grossly aware her experience with men had been somewhat limited. He had to take it steady regardless of the fact that all he really wanted to do was stake his claim. Their first time would be slow so as not to frighten her. He wanted to be able to languish in their lovemaking, let her take the lead if she needed to, make it a sensual experience for both of them. He’d thought about it often enough so why was he finding it so difficult to keep control?  
  
He walked into his bedroom, stripping every last inch of clothing from his body as he looked at the bed before him. He closed his eyes imagining her with him, looking at him with the same bashful look upon her face that she had just shown him when he’d pulled the wetsuit from his chest and then again when he’d taken it off his legs. He imagined holding her, kissing her, slowly undressing her, laying her down upon his bed before completely worshipping her, that’s what he wanted. And not just the first time either, time and time again afterwards. Making love under clear blue or starry skies, skies full of snow, or fireworks or storms. Their bodies entwined, her head arching back, her neck exposed for him to kiss, to lick.  
  
“Enough,” he told himself, stalking into the bathroom and dousing himself under the coldest shower he could stand. Thoughts of being with her were becoming unbearable, he needed to step back for a while, distance himself, it was the only way he knew how to survive. The problem was he didn’t think Betty would see it that way at all.  
  
And as he walked towards where she and Natalie stood on the school sports field, he realised that nothing was going to change. Unless they moved forward as a couple by the time Betty was ready to leave Monday morning then his spirit would break. He had to do something, anything to move this along before it all got too far out of hand. He had two and a half days to do it.  
  
“Hey you,” Betty smiled, but stayed where she was. Well that was the first thing that needed to change.  
  
He stepped closer, taking her hand in his and kissing the back of it. “Hey, look,” he pulled her aside, “I’m really sorry about earlier, running off like that.” He could see that Betty wasn’t quite sure what he was referring to, “you know, when we were celebrating.”  
  
“Oh, right. It’s no biggie, Daniel.”  
  
“Betty, it’s quite a big biggie actually. Look, I’d like to take you out to dinner, tonight, just the two of us, on a date.”  
  
“We’ve been invited out by Natalie and Tom, there’s a candlelit procession tonight and they wondered if we’d like to meet up with them at the pub for something to eat and get to know them a bit better. I think Tom wants to give you the third degree about how you won this morning.”  
  
“Did you give them an answer?”  
  
“No, why would I? I said I’d have to speak with you first.”  
  
“Ok, well we’ll go, if that’s what you want to do.”  
  
“I’d really like to, I’m really starting to like Natalie and Tom’s such a scream.” Betty stopped her sentence short. “Look we don’t have to stay with them all night, once the procession goes past perhaps we can make that our excuse to leave. And then tomorrow night, I’m all yours.”  
  
“Hmm, I might not be much use if I pull a muscle or something tomorrow afternoon.”  
  
Betty giggled, “sounds like I may have to rub ointment on your stiff bones and aching muscles.”  
  
“Perhaps we could stay in instead.” He was pulling out all the stops.  
  
“Daniel Meade, are you hitting on me?”  
  
He held his hands up, “maybe a little, although I’m sure you wouldn’t let me get away with it.”  
  
“No, I’ve seen how the charm offensive works in real time. It won’t cut it with me.” He noticed Betty swallow, her hands wringing together with nervousness. He kept quiet waiting for her to speak, “besides I want a proper date with Daniel Meade.”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“You know, you pick me up, you tell me how beautiful I am, you take me out to some fancy restaurant, we eat, we talk, we go dancing, you take me home again, drop me off and say goodnight.”  
  
“Ok, then if that’s what you want that’s what we’ll have. A proper date, although I can’t promise the dancing.” He saw her smile drop a little, “although I’ll see what I can do. I’ll pick you up about six. Where do you live again?” He grinned.  
  
Betty played along, “my address is care of the front guest room, Blue Lagoon, Chapel Street.”  
  
“That sounds like a great place to live?”  
  
“It is. I have a lovely view of the estuary, a very comfortable bed, oh yeah and a chrome hairdryer. Now aren’t you supposed to be judging some of the competitions?”  
  
“Yes, I am. Thanks for reminding me.” He started walking off before turning back, “see, what would I do without you?”

.oOo.

They’d had an eventful time over the past day or so, what with Daniel judging the children’s egg and spoon and the sack race before attempting to partner with Betty for the three legged race. However, the girls had decided to team up and after Natalie had made a ‘good’ job of joining Daniel’s and Tom’s legs together, the girls went on to beat them when the boys ties had fallen off and they fell over. Daniel had quietly assured Betty, with a glint in his eye, that if he ever found out it was her idea he’d take matters into his own hands. She’d liked the sound of that.  
  
Friday evening had begun with the Crabbers Chase, when the local crabbing boats raced across the estuary. Each couple picked their favourite, Betty and Daniel plumping for the boat that was decorated like it should’ve been in the tico berry shoot. Their enthusiasm had given them a few wayward glances from passers-by but they were undeterred. Unfortunately, it had been a lost cause; engine trouble had negated the boat from finishing the race.  
  
They drowned their sorrows in the local pub with Natalie and Tom, who were great companions and Betty left feeling like they could all be real friends even with such a difference in ages. The candlelit procession passed by the pub but Betty and Daniel had been unwilling to leave as they had suggested earlier that day. The company had been far too compelling. When Daniel walked Betty home he decided to take her hand and lead her around the long route down by the water, the lights twinkling along with the current. Betty felt exhilarated at the prospect that Daniel may make a move but he was the complete gentleman and, although a little disappointed, she accepted it gracefully.  
  
The following morning had been the sandcastle competition, Daniel judging the children’s entries. Betty marvelled at how good he was with them, perhaps having DJ around for all those months had rubbed off on him but he was so genuine and caring with them all. And if Betty had to be honest, it thrilled her to see how well he coped, she could see that he was ready to settle down and have his family. He would do well, she had no doubt about that but was she ready? If the time spent with Henry and his son was anything to go by then she had her doubts. That had been a while ago, she had to remind herself, and this was Daniel. It was a totally different ball game.  
  
The time had come for the penultimate event of the regatta, the tug-o-war. Betty couldn’t help but ogle at Daniels’ legs now that they were once again on show. As both teams took the strain it became a battle of wills to see who would come up trumps. But the rugby club and Daniel finally pulled over the fishermen and the fight was won. Daniel tried complaining about his aching legs but Betty was having none of it. She put her finger to his lips before quickly kissing his mouth. He was so stunned he just stood there watching her retreating figure. By the time the Red Arrows flew overhead it was about time for Betty to get changed. She headed off in the direction of home and waited for her date to arrive.

.oOo.

As she studied herself carefully in the mirror, Berry worried whether going out on a date with Daniel was a good idea or not. They already knew so much about one another that there was little else to discover. They’d both already met each other’s parents so there was no issue there either but what if they just couldn’t make this work. Love wasn’t always enough, she’d seen it before. Hell, she’d experienced it. But what if neither of them could bring anything else to the table, what then?  
  
She also worried about her outfit, wondering whether or not Daniel was going to love it or hate it. She had to admit, she still had bad days and this could’ve been one right there and then. Daniel was used to having a good looking girl on his arm, someone sassy and confident as well as beautiful. Betty was none of those things. “Why does he even want to bother with me?” She asked her reflection.  
  
But it was too late for an answer as Daniel was knocking at her door. She opened it tentatively hoping that the beauty tips Christina had passed on to her had paid off. She needn’t have worried, as soon as Daniel saw her his eyes grew wide, taking in the black lace silhouette that hugged every curve of her body, the lilac satin sash around her waist, that was also the same colour of her shoes and a flash of the same colour in her hair where a ribbon was tied around the bun that sat at the nape of her neck. After an initial pause he seemingly began to breathe again. “Wow, Betty you look amazing.”  
  
Despite all of the comments she’d used to berate herself, they were left forgotten as Daniel took her hand in his and placed it in the crook of his arm. “Are you ready to go?” She nodded, unable to speak in fear of saying the wrong thing but taking in his appearance too. This had been the first time she’d seen him in a suit since they’d worked together and he still looked good. This one was dark navy with the tiniest lilac pinstripe running through the fabric. He wore a darker purple shirt but his tie matched her sash. She loved it. “We’re going to walk down to the quay, will you be ok in those shoes?”  
  
“Yes, I think so. Where are we going?”  
  
“It’s a surprise.” They walked down the hill to the quayside and down to the pontoon where a ferry was waiting to take them out onto the water. Daniel stepped down into the vessel before helping Betty, her hands on his shoulders as he pulled her into his arms before letting her gently sink down to the deck. They took a seat together at the back of the boat his right arm around her shoulders whilst she held onto his left hand with both of hers. She wasn’t afraid of the water but she was afraid that if she let go for even the smallest moment, Daniel would float away from her.  
  
They reached another boat, an ocean going yacht and transferred to it as quickly as they could before this boat also took them further out onto the water, beyond the mouth of the estuary and out onto the channel. This was the furthest she’d been out on a boat and she wasn’t quite sure how she felt about that. Nor coupled with the fact that there was nowhere to go if things got out of hand. However, she had to consider the possibility that Daniel had taken this into account and there was absolutely nothing to worry about. Why would Daniel put himself into a situation that he couldn’t escape from?  
  
“Penny for them?” He whispered, handing her a glass of champagne.  
  
“I was just thinking about how you always manage to keep trumping yourself. I’d have never of thought of going for a date on a yacht but it makes it so much more personal.” She smiled up to him, before taking a sip of the champagne. “And then I thought, how’s he going to top this?”  
  
“You’ll have to wait and see.”  
  
“Don’t tease me Daniel,” she scolded, “I’m still just Betty from Queens you know. Under this dress and this makeup and even these shoes, I’ll still only ever be her with her family values and weird dress sense.”  
  
“Have you finished?”  
  
She looked him square in the face, she wasn’t going to back down. “Yes.”  
  
“Then let me tell you about how I see you.” He took her glass from her and placed his and hers on the table before sitting with her on the seat that ran the width of the boat along the stern. “Betty, I know who you were and who you are, you’re basically the same girl with different clothes and no braces. You love your family, would do anything for them, you’re a loyal friend, and you have this amazing ability to see the good in everyone, especially me. I couldn’t have wished for a better assistant than you. Ok, we had a rocky start but when you finally moulded me into who I am now I think you did a great job. And even then none of this has any bearing on why I asked you out.” He took her hands in his, “I know I’ve made some big mistakes with women in the past but you, your willingness to forgive my every mistake has made me love you more with each and every day. I know I’ve really hurt you, I should have at least said goodbye to you, even though at that point in my life I had no idea what I was feeling; we were still friends and I should’ve supported you.” He placed a hand over her heart, “you have such a big heart Betty and if I can even touch a small part of that then I’ll be happy. Once I’d realised that I was deeply and madly in love with you I followed you but with every step I took closer to you I had a nagging doubt that I couldn’t shift. I had to make something of myself first, I couldn’t just walk up to you and say ‘hey Betty, I’m sorry for being such a jerk, I really should’ve said goodbye to you’, and allow you to pick up the pieces, you had enough on your plate.” He looked away from her but Betty wasn’t easily deterred.  
  
“Yes, you could, Daniel. Love knows no reason, no boundaries, no distance. It has a sole intention of bringing people together to a time called forever. Whoever said that wasn’t wrong.” She knelt in front of him, her hands cupping his face, her eyes searching his. He leant in towards her, she opened her mouth in anticipation of what she was sure to follow. She could feel her heartbeat beating in her ears, her mouth dried, her breathing quickened. She closed her eyes waiting for the white touch paper to ignite, and when his lips met hers the intensity damn near took the life out of them both. Their kiss was gentle, soothing with the tiniest hint of need and despite everything else that surrounded them and their relationship it was relaxed and unhurried as if it would last forever. When Betty finally found the need to pull away she sat back on her heels staring deep into the cerulean depths of his eyes, “I love you Daniel, I guess I always have in my own little way.”  
  
He helped her up, sitting her in his lap, her arms around his neck, his around her waist. “When did you first realise?”  
  
“It was the day Christina bought me away on vacation. She was driving down to the spa and the conversation that we’d had hadn’t been the kindest. I got to thinking about what she’d said about you falling for me and that you couldn’t stand to see me go which was why you didn’t come to my party. So in my haste to lay the blame at your door I didn’t take a closer look at myself. I completely missed that I was in love with you and I was in a position where I could do nothing about it.”  
  
“Until the following day.”  
  
“Yes, and then I just threw it back in your face. I’m so sorry Daniel.”  
  
“Betty, stop apologising. Sometimes things happen in a certain way for a reason.”  
  
“You’re right, it was just so frustrating at times.”  
  
“Tell me about it.”  
  
“And what about you?”  
  
“Mom was right, as usual, she knew I was in love with you before I even did.”  
  
“Yes, she had a theory.”  
  
“She told you?”  
  
“Yes, when I was wondering if you’d show up at my party. She told me that you were having a hard time letting me go.”  
  
“She wasn’t wrong. I definitely knew the night of your party, when I told mom that I had to let you go. But I guess it had been building up for some time before that. I knew I was in some kind of trouble at your sister’s wedding, especially when she said that she’d ‘married her best friend’.”  
  
Betty smiled, “we can so upstage her on that one.”  
  
“Not that we’re going to.”  
  
“No, of course not.” Betty’s stomach growled, “how long have we been out here and why haven’t you fed me yet?”  
  
“I think that you may have had something to do with that, kissing me.”  
  
“You kissed me.”  
  
“Ok, but you initiated it.”  
  
“Well one of us had to.”  
  
“Yes,” Betty got up from her seat but Daniel stopped her from walking inside, “Betty, I want us to take our time with this. Do you understand?”  
  
“Um … Daniel, what are you trying to say, that you want our relationship to move along slowly?”  
  
“Yes, I don’t want to make the same mistakes with you as I have done so often in the past.” He was really showing her how vulnerable he was. “I want to wait, a good while, before, well before …”  
  
“Before you take me to bed?”  
  
He nodded, “I respect you far too much to want to rush you.”  
  
“You’re worried about me? I’m not a piece of fine china.”  
  
“I’m aware of that Betty, but you’re a lady and I’d really like to treat you like one.”  
  
“Thank you. Are you expecting me to call the shots then?”  
  
He nodded, “I have no intention of sleeping with you until you ask me to and then it’ll be at my discretion.”  
  
“So you’d turn me down flat if I asked you now?”  
  
“Yep.”  
  
“Oh, you are so going to regret ever saying that to me.” She walked through to the lounge and was helped into her seat by the waiter.  
  
“I have a feeling I might.” He told himself before joining Betty inside. They enjoyed their meal whilst talking about old times and future expectations. When Daniel admitted to having had dinner with Wilhelmina due to the dating site he’d signed up with, Betty couldn’t help but laugh, especially when he told her about how they’d managed to cut it short. Daniel then asked her in great detail about flashing Gio and drunk dialling Henry.  
  
Then they danced, he taught her to waltz until the rhythm was kicked up a bit and they managed to salsa in the tiny area they had to work in. They continued well into the night and Betty was sad when she realised that the little ferry had once more arrived to take them back to shore. They walked back up the hill far more like a couple than when they’d left. Daniel’s jacket was around her shoulders and his arm was firmly tucked around her waist, she held his other hand in her own. As soon as they reached home he was walking her to her door. “I want to see you safely inside,” he confided.  
  
But she wouldn’t let him go without a kiss. It started much as their first had but this grew in intensity, the after effects of the wine and the evening they’d just shared overtaking their good judgement. Daniel pulled away, “Don’t go Daniel, please, not yet.”  
  
“I have to, if I don’t I may regret it. Your virtue is important to me.”  
  
“Daniel,” she whispered, “I’m not a virgin.”  
  
“Betty, I’m only too well aware of that. Besides you normally waited.”  
  
“I didn’t know what I was doing and I wasn’t completely sure they did either.” He laughed, “now with you …” Her hands began feeling up the front of his chest. He pulled them from him but kissed each of the fingertips in turn.  
  
“With me you get a lot of experience, which believe me Betty, you can also wait for. You’re not even in the right place yet to understand some of the things that I’ve done and I’m not saying that to frighten you, I’m just letting you know. We come from two different worlds, you and I, we really need to be able to meet in the middle somewhere and neither of us is ready for that just yet.”  
  
Was she pouting at him? “Ok, I’m with you on this.” She pecked him on the cheek before handing him his jacket and sashaying into her room.  
  
Daniel sighed before smiling, if he didn’t know any better he’d have just sworn he’d been duped. He shook his head as he smirked. “Someday when you least expect it Betty, I’m going to get you for that.”


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8  
  
Daniel had risen early; the morning sun that had filtered through the window had bathed him in an orange glow that he just couldn’t relax beneath. He showered, images and thoughts rambling through his mind ten to the dozen. In the time it took him to clean himself he’d mapped out his whole life ahead of him including Betty into the bargain. He could see her fitting in very well into his space, as he had so much anticipated all those months ago when he’d asked the architect to design the top floor.  
  
He walked through to the closet, hoping that the empty rails would soon be full of her clothes. He saw a wedding dress hanging in a garment bag, confetti and rice still attached to the lace of the veil. Ivory satin shoes lovingly stored away in a box on the top shelf, a dried rose from her bouquet delicately laid on top of them before the lid was sealed. He closed his eyes, “please let that happen.” It had been the first time he’d allowed himself to think of him and Betty in such a permanent state, and he loved it.  
  
As he wandered aimlessly down the first set of stairs he saw that the door to Betty’s room was slightly ajar and he could hear voices coming from within. Curiosity got the better of him, he inched nearer ascertaining that the other voice was female.  
  
 _“So tell me all about it.”_  
  
“It was marvellous. We went out on this launch to an ocean going yacht and then we went out further still onto the channel where we stayed for ages. We had dinner out there and talked, he even taught me how to waltz.”  
  
 _“Sorry, come again? Daniel Meade knows how to waltz? Now that’s a first, is there an end to any of his talents … or indeed charm?”_  
  
It had to be Christina; he knew she wasn’t his biggest fan.  
  
“No, Christina it was fine. We really connected last night.”  
  
 _“I bet you did.”_  
  
“Nothing untoward happened, he was the perfect gentleman.” He smiled at Betty defending him, “he’s told me that he won’t take me to bed until I’m entirely ready for us to move on to the next stage.”  
  
 _“Who’d have thought he had morals.”_  
  
“That’s hardly fair.”  
  
 _“No you’re right, I’m sorry Betty. I’m just a bit cranky what with the baby deciding to lie on my spine for the last week and Stuart having a fall yesterday.”_  
  
“Oh my God, is he ok? Is there anything I can do?”  
  
 _“Och, no. The doctors are running tests. He’s in the best place, just could do without it seeing as I’m so close to my due date.”_  
  
“Do you want me to come home?”  
  
 _“What? No. By God you’ve just literally got in with Daniel and you want to leave him already. You’ll give him paranoia, poor thing. No Betty, I can cope. What I really want to know is how it happened.”_  
  
“How what happened?”  
  
 _“Your first kiss? I want all the details.”_  
  
“Well, it nearly happened on Friday morning but I think Daniel was holding back.”  
  
 _“Really, that does surprise me.”_  
  
“It surprised me too until his friend told me that Daniel probably didn’t want to rush into anything and frighten me off.”  
  
 _“Ok, I can buy that.”_  
  
“We were on the boat and I was like, ‘why are you bothering with me, underneath I’m still just plain old Betty Suarez’, and he went into this speech about how he loved all of that about me, about how I am when I’m with my family, putting everyone else first and forgiving him all of his ills, seeing the good in him when no one else can.”  
  
 _“I’m with him on that one.”_  
  
“Christina, do you want to know or not?”  
  
 _“Of course I do.”_  
  
“And then he said, ‘you have such a big heart Betty and if I can even touch a small part of that then I’ll be happy’.”  
  
 _“Aah.”_  
  
“He said he knew he was in love with me at my party but he just couldn’t work out what to do, he said he even realised he was in trouble when Hilda had told everyone she’d married her best friend at her wedding. He said once he knew he was madly in love with me he followed me but then realised that he had nothing to offer me. He said he wouldn’t come and find me again until he’d made something of himself.”  
  
 _“Pride comes before a fall.”_  
  
“Look, for Daniel to admit that I think that shows great character. I don’t think he meant to stay away so long, he just didn’t really know how to handle the situation and then it wasn’t fresh any longer; and I was seriously angry with him.”  
  
 _“You can say you were pissed off with him.”_ Daniel managed to control his laughter and he could tell that Betty was none too pleased by Christina’s comment.  
  
“To be honest Christina, I think you’d really like him now, if I ever give you the opportunity to find out.”  
  
 _“I’ll take your word for that, until then I’ll reserve judgement.”_  
  
“Have it your own way.” She paused for a long while before recounting her evening, “anyway, so he basically said he couldn’t allow me to keep us and I told him that was stupid and quoted ‘love know no boundaries’. I was kneeling in front of him, my hands cupping his face, searching his eyes for any kind of recognition that he understood what I’d said and then it happened. He kissed me.”  
  
Another long pause.  _“And?”_  
  
“And it was the most sweet but strangely erotic kiss I’ve ever had with anyone. It was so measured and loving and passionate. I guess with the anticipation that had been brewing up between us for so long it was either going to be magical or traumatic. Thank God it was the former.”  
  
 _“Did it make you tingle?”_  
  
“Yes, everywhere. In places that I didn’t even know it could.”  
  
 _“Are you sure it was just a kiss?”_  
  
“It was just a kiss, but it was earth shattering. My heart was beating so fast it was hammering against my ribcage and thundering in my ears, my knees felt like jelly and a thrill ran down my spine.” Daniel brushed an errant tear from his cheek, so she’d felt it too.  
  
 _“Oh sweetie, I’m so happy for you.”_  
  
“You are?”  
  
 _“Yes, maybe I was wrong about Daniel, but by God if he ever hurts you again I’ll kill him.”_  
  
“Thanks. Oh, is that your phone ringing, I’ll let you go.” And with that their conversation ended. It was Daniel’s cue to leave.  
  
As he pattered around downstairs he could hear her movements above him. She walked across the landing and back again. The hairdryer went on and then off several minutes later.  There was a long silence when she must have been applying make-up or putting on her clothes. Then there was the soft pad of her feet on the stairs before she came into view and crossed the space between them. She ended up in his arms so effortlessly he wasn’t even sure how she’d got there, but their kiss was lingering, “good morning beautiful.”  
  
“Good morning, Daniel.”  
  
“Did you sleep well?”  
  
“Not as well as I have done in that bed, and probably because you weren’t sharing it with me.”  
  
“Betty.” He warned.  
  
“I know, I know. When we meet up in the same place. How about you?” She teased.  
  
He grinned, “I didn’t do so well either.”  
  
“Then perhaps we should just get it over and done with.”  
  
“No. Why so eager?”  
  
She shook her head, “I guess it’s because we already know so much about one another that I feel like we’ve been together for ages already.”  
  
“But this part, well not the hugging part exactly but the kissing and the touching part, that’s all new to us. We should be savouring that part.”  
  
“I suppose, I just feel comfortable with you and isn’t that what you want me to feel? I know that you’ll look after me, make sure I’m safe and happy, and wouldn’t ever dream of hurting me.”  
  
“Thank you for believing in me and trusting me, Betty, it means an awful lot to hear you say that but I also need to feel it too which is why I’m just asking us to wait for a bit longer. A good few weeks, just until we’re really ready to take things nice and slow.”  
  
“Oh so that’s what this is all about, you want to take your time.”  
  
He smiled, “you got me. Betty, I really want our first time to be leisurely and special, for it to take all night if needs be, I really want to be able to show you exactly what I feel for you and a five minute fumble isn’t really going to do that.”  
  
She coloured, “oh, I see.” Daniel couldn’t help thinking how endearing she was when she was embarrassed. “I’m guessing some sexy lingerie would be in order then.”  
  
Daniel laughed, “as long as it’s subtle then yes, if you wear anything too racy then it  _will_  be the five minute fumble.”  
  
“I’m sure I’ve still got some cotton pyjamas somewhere, will they do?” He loved how she teased him.  
  
“Hmm, perhaps I better buy you something.”  
  
“And take all the fun out of seeing the expression on your face when you’ve already seen it?”  
  
“I won’t have seen you in it,” he kissed her neck.  
  
“No, but it won’t be a surprise will it. I’ll get the underwear. You get the champagne and the condoms and then we’re even.”  
  
“A large or small pack? On second thoughts I’ll worry about that.” He rested his forehead on hers, “Betty, this is real isn’t it?”  
  
“Very, Daniel. I love you.”  
  
“And I love you Betty, with all of my heart.” Bending down towards her, his mouth sought out hers. Tenderly he kissed her, his lips suckling on her lower one, his teeth gently grazing the plump skin before taking her whole mouth with his, his tongue dancing with hers. Her arms tightened about his neck as he deepened the kiss and his hands slid over the rump of her behind, pulling her as close to him as he could. But if he was going to keep his promise then he had to stop, he took a step back breaking their union, his breath coming rapidly as hers was too. “Oh Betty, what you do to me.”  
  
“Daniel, I’m sorry, I’ve never felt like this before.”  
  
He laughed heartily, “I’m not angry with you, just a little disconcerted that you can make me feel like this, like I can’t stop myself. I’m like a moth to a flame where you’re concerned.” He brushed his fingers through his hair, “if it’s any consolation, this is new for me too, I’ve never felt like this either. Not even with Molly and that was pretty intense.”  
  
Betty hung her head, her already flushed cheeks burning a deeper red. He reached out his hand, the fingers softly bringing her chin upwards, his eyes searching her face. “You are adorable, you can talk about condoms and lingerie one minute and then you shy away from me the next when I make some kind of sexual reference.” She bit her lip, trying to turn her head away but he wouldn’t let her go. “Please don’t Betty. Not with me, you should never feel embarrassed by things I say to you.”  
  
“I’m just not used to it,” she whispered.  
  
“I know, but one day you will be and then I’ll know that you’re ready. I suppose in one way I should be glad.”  
  
“And why’s that?”  
  
“That none of your ex’s ever measured up; otherwise we wouldn’t have wound up like this.”  
  
She smiled, “none of them ever made me feel special. You’re the only one.” He took her hand, kissing the ring finger on her left hand, silently pertaining to what he wanted for them. And when he looked deeply into her eyes and deep into her soul he knew she understood.  
  
The doorbell rang, bringing them both back to earth with a jolt. “We’ll continue this later,” Daniel called out as he went to answer the door and invited Philippe in. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”  
  
Philippe strolled through to the kitchen noticing Betty as she filled the kettle and put it on to boil. “Good morning Betty, you look like you’re settling in?”  
  
“Good morning to you Philippe. I think I am which is just typical because I have to leave tomorrow.”  
  
“It won’t be long before you are back though, no?”  
  
“That depends on whether Daniel wants me back.”  
  
Philippe looked Daniel square in the face, “I don’t think you ‘ave too much to worry about there, does she?”  
  
Daniel caught Betty’s eye. “No, she has nothing to worry about on that score at all.”  
  
“Thank God, it was getting a bit depressing.” Philippe laughed, “I love you like a brother, Daniel but you do some crazy things. I can’t believe you let this one slip through the net for so long. She is lovely and she humanizes this God awful cottage. But more to the point and God alone knows why, she loves you.” Philippe poked Daniel in the chest.  
  
“I am aware of that, Philippe. And I couldn’t tell you why either but I’m glad she does, my life wouldn’t be the same without her.”  
  
“No.” Philippe took a seat at the breakfast bar. “Now the reason for my visit.” Betty placed a mug in front of both Philippe and Daniel before retrieving her own. “I was on my run this morning when I met up with Jay at the south sands. We got chatting about the latest results and ‘e came up with an idea to skim some more off the ‘ull. Thing is, and I ‘ave a tendency to trust Jay’s thinking, if ‘e’s right about it then it’s going to blow what we ‘ave already achieved out of the water.”  
  
On her way past Daniel, he caught hold of Betty’s arm and pulled her towards him. “I was going to leave you two to it.”  
  
“No need, I’m sure that anything you have to offer to the conversation will be valid, you were always able to make me see sense at Mode.”  
  
“Running a magazine and building boats are two totally different things.”  
  
“Not really. Philippe, do you mind Betty sitting in on this?”  
  
“Not at all. Betty, you’ve been very quick at picking things up this week, I do not see a problem.”  
  
Daniel pulled out a seat for her whilst he stood between them. “So what do you think?” He asked Betty.  
  
“I think you should go for it, and if it works I think you two should offer him a partnership.”  
  
Daniel and Philippe both stared at her. “What?” Philippe asked, before Daniel started laughing.  
  
“Is this like the time you suggested we could get Vincent Bianchi to shoot a spread for us?”  
  
Philippe looked perplexed and then Betty answered. “We got him didn’t we?”  
  
“Correction. You got him.” Daniel’s eyes sparkled. “Ok, spill. What’s been said?”  
  
“Ok, the other day when I was down by the quayside and it was the children’s crabbing competition, Jay and I got talking. Once we’d eventually got onto the topic of the boatyard well he just mentioned that he was hoping to buy into it, but that was just about the time that you and Philippe had met up and that you were going to put some of your money into it. I think he felt like he’d been passed over a bit and now that it appears that Alexis is coming in too, he’s wondering if he has a place there, I guess.”  
  
“Of course ‘e ‘as. I couldn’t ‘ave done any of this without ‘im.”  
  
“Then perhaps the two of you, or maybe three of you should be thinking about securing his place before Sam gets too old to want his dad around and Jay decides to jump ship?”  
  
“And there’s the slam dunk.” Daniel grinned.  
  
“Not quite. I did say I’d try and get a meeting pencilled in between at least you and him. He wanted to sound out the idea with you, see if you thought it was a good idea at least.”  
  
“Then I should set that up, I’ll get Natalie to find a convenient time for the three of us Philippe and I think Betty is right. No harm in trying anything new, we can always roll that out as version number two in a few month’s time if it really works as well as Jay thinks it will.”  
  
“Ok, we’ll talk about this tomorrow.” Philippe scooted from his seat, turning suddenly to Betty, “you are not only good looking but a good influence too, on all of us it would seem. You are a blessing from the Gods.” He took her hand kissing the back of it before breaking for the door, “Look after ‘er Daniel, before someone else does.” The banging of the door signalled his departure.  
  
Daniel looked at Betty for the longest time without saying anything. “What?”  
  
“He’s right. I don’t know what on earth possessed fate to send you my way but I’m glad it did. I was a broken soul for a long time, you repaired me, Betty.” He drew closer, taking her head within his hands and kissing her forehead. “I love you.” His arms enveloped her, her head resting on his shoulder. Then he noticed the time, “Oh lord, I’m late.” He whipped around trying to find everything he needed.  
  
“What for?”  
  
“Calling the bingo numbers.”  
  
“Oh, you’re supposed to be coming along with that, so I hear.”  
  
“Come with me, they can’t moan at me if the reason I’m late is because I was tempted by a siren.”  
  
“Alright,” she managed before she was pulled through the front door and into his car. “Daniel, I don’t have my bag.”  
  
“Do you really think you’ll need it?”  
  
“I suppose not.”  
  
“Good,” he put the car in gear and he was off. The nursing home beckoned.

.oOo.

“Clickety Click.” Daniel called out.  
  
“Sixty six,” the pensioners responded.  
  
The old lady next to Betty pointed at Betty’s card. “There you go bird, only another five for a full house.” She encouraged. Betty looked over to the woman’s cards, seriously amazed at how many she could look at all at the same time.  
  
“Two little ducks.”  
  
“Quack, quack.”  
  
“Mabel?” Betty asked her neighbour, “what’s a quack?”  
  
“Not a quack, bird. A duck. A two.”  
  
“Oh, twenty two. I get it.” Betty crossed off another number.  
  
“Legs eleven.”  
  
The crowd whistled. This was surreal, but Betty enjoyed it. She could see why Daniel loved coming here, everyone was such a character.  
  
“Top of the shop.”  
  
“That’s 90,” Mabel said without a prompt.  
  
“That figures.” Betty mumbled. “He’s quite good at this isn’t he?”  
  
“Shhhhhhh,” someone behind her called out. Betty turned and mouth a ‘sorry’.  
  
“Pay no mind to Denise; she’d shush you up in night club.” It surprised Betty that Mabel knew what a night club was.  
  
“Fifty nine,” Daniel called out.  
  
“The Brighton Line, whoop, whoop.”  
  
“Is he your boyfriend?” Mabel asked her. “Oh you’ve got that one too.”  
  
“Yes,” Betty managed as she crossed off another number, two more to go.  
  
“Er … Cameron’s den.”  
  
“Number ten.”  
  
“Ooh, you must be sweating,” Mabel said.  
  
“I’m quite cold actually.”  
  
“Your numbers, you’ve got one left.”  
  
“Oh thanks, Mabel. Be sure to call it out for me, I’d have lost my way if I’d been left on my own.”  
  
“Two fat ladies.”  
  
“Eighty eight.”  
  
“That’s a bit derogatory, but I guess it works.” Betty shrugged.  
  
“You’ve not been seeing him long have you?”  
  
“No, a few days. Although we’ve known each other for a long time.”  
  
“Any which way.” Daniel coughed.  
  
“Sixty nine.”  
  
“Oh, that was close.” Betty said.  
  
“You haven’t slept with him yet then.” Mabel stated. “If he were mine I’d have had him on the first date.”  
  
Betty was shocked, where had that come from.  
  
“All the fours.”  
  
“Forty four.”  
  
“There dear,” Mabel nudged her but Betty was still recoiling form the last comment. Mabel grabbed hold of the ticket and called out, “house! Daniel it’s your girlfriend’s ticket.” Mabel shouted out eagerly.  
  
Daniel got up from his seat and claimed the ticket from Mabel’s hand. He checked off the numbers that had been called. “It’s a winner,” he declared.  
  
“What’s the prize?” Betty asked.  
  
“I think a kiss from the caller.” Mabel suggested. The others joined in. “Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss.”  
  
Daniel took he hand and brought her close to him, “remind me to never get old.” He smiled. His arms snaked around her waist as he bent down to meet her, “hi.”  
  
“Hi yourself.” She smiled back, waiting for the moment that she’d missed since that morning. Then his lips were on hers and everyone melted away, it was just Daniel and herself, together. The chanting was replaced by cheers and ah’s, and as they broke apart Mabel joined them.  
  
“You two look heavenly together, just like me and my Sid did.” She opened the locket that hung over her chest. She pointed to the first picture. “This was me on my twenty first birthday,” she pointed to the next, “and this was Sid when he passed out from army training. Three weeks later he was sent off to Belgium to fight in the war and I didn’t see him for two and a half years. It was horrific going on day by day not knowing whether he’d been shot or become a prisoner of war.”  
  
“How awful.” Betty sympathised, her arm holding Daniel more firmly. He squeezed her back, they’d only been apart for a year and neither had had that kind of worry. So this was perspective.  
  
“Hmm, but I was one of the lucky ones and about a month after he returned home, we got married.” She patted Daniel’s arm. “Don’t wait too long my birds, not when you’ve found your soul mate.”  
  
“We won’t,” Daniel confided, watching her retreat from the room. He looked at Betty, “Mabel thinks we’re soul mates.”  
  
“And what do you think?”  
  
“I don’t know, Betty. Maybe with everything that we’ve been through together, knowing one another so well, even after everything at the start when I was a complete jerk, maybe she’s right. Maybe we were just destined to get together right from the start.”  
  
“But we only came together when it was right, for us.”  
  
“Yes, come on let’s go. We’ve only got a little while left together before you go home and I’d really like to spend that just with you.”  
  
After dropping the car back at the cottage, they decided to walk down to the north sands beach. They found a sheltered spot underneath some trees, Daniel taking a seat first and pulling Betty down to sit in front of him. She leant back against his chest as he held her close to him, kissing her hair and generally chatting. “Will you miss me?” He asked awkwardly.  
  
She turned to look at him, cupping his cheek with her hand, he closed his eyes in response. “Yes, very much.”  
  
“I’m going to miss you too. How long do you think you’ll be away?”  
  
“Until I get home I won’t have any idea, what with writing up the story on the boatyard and making sure Christina is ok. You can always come and visit though.”  _As long as it’s not too quickly, I need to get rid of Matt first._  
  
“Ok, I’ll keep you posted; now that the testing’s been completed things are set to get a bit crazy.” He kissed her, “we can always Skype each other though?”  
  
“Yes, I’d like that.”  
  
They sat watching the waves crash on the sand, the silky white bubbles cascading over the beach back and forth, moving shells and seaweed and bits of driftwood in its wake. The sun was about to touch the water at the horizon, the point where gold met ultramarine. “Look,’ Daniel pointed, “they’re about to touch, listen for the crackle.”  
  
She watched, seemingly hearing the fission between sun and sea as they joined. She couldn’t help thinking that she was the sun and Daniel the sea, hoping that their ultimate union would be as electric. “It will be,” Daniel said.  
  
She turned to look at him, his eyes as dark as the sea at the point of contact with the sun. “How did you know what I was thinking?”  
  
“I was thinking it too.”  
  
“Daniel, despite all of your recent protestations to the contrary and probably the two or three I’m going to hear from you whilst we walk home, we really need to do this. I’m ready and don’t care if our first time does only take five minutes, I want you to show me how you feel about me, tonight, before I go home tomorrow and we don’t see each other for months again. I need this.”  
  
“Are you absolutely, one hundred percent sure? Because once we’ve gone past this point we can’t go back.”  
  
She knelt up in front of him, kissing him hard before standing up and offering him her hand. “Don’t forget, Mabel told us not to wait too long. I’m absolutely sure about this; I want this more than anything else.”  
  
Somehow he got to his feet, this was going to be the most exhilarating and yet petrifying moment of his life, he just hoped that he could do a good job. He took her hand, virtually pulling her along the pavement. She wasn’t sure how they got to the cottage so quickly but she didn’t care, her hands were on his hips pulling at the hem of his shirt and kissing his neck whilst he fumbled in his pocket for his keys. They were soon inside, kissing and groping in the semi darkness, both smiling and laughing, enjoying the thrill of travelling hands whilst trembling fingers were attempting to take off the others clothes.  
  
It was just at the point where Daniel had undone Betty’s blouse, revealing the nude and raspberry lacey bra beneath and was about to throw her over his shoulder when they were suddenly stopped. They could both hear a telephone ringing; Daniel pulled his from his jeans pocket, “not mine.”  
  
Unhooking her bag from the coat hook, Betty opened it just as her phone stopped ringing. She pulled it out and looked at the screen, eight missed calls. She unlocked the phone, opened received calls and saw that there were five from Christina and three from Matt. Something was wrong.  
  
Daniel moved closer, his hand stroking her hair, “what’s up?”  
  
“I don’t know, there are eight missed calls.”  
  
“Is it Christina?” Betty merely nodded; he faced her, his hands on her shoulders. “I’m sorry Betty; I overheard your conversation with her this morning. If it’s about either the baby or her husband you should call her back.”  
  
“Yes,” but she didn’t get the chance, her phone sprang back in to life. ‘Matt calling’.  
  
She looked up into Daniel’s face, he’d seen the caller, his hands now firmly by his side, his body a whole foot away from her. She answered, pulling her blouse back around her body, “Hi.”  
  
 _“Where’ve you been?”_  
  
“Out.”  
  
 _“We’ve been calling you for ages.”_  
  
“Yes,” she’d noticed the time of the first call, two thirteen. “What’s wrong?”  
  
 _“It’s Stuart.”_  
  
“What’s happened to him?”  
  
 _“He’s dead, Betty.”_  
  
Her legs gave way, she crumpled to the floor. Tears flooded her eyes, “What? How?”  
  
 _“No one knows. It was all so sudden.”_  
  
“What about Christina?” She sobbed.  
  
 _“She needs you, Betty, How soon can you be here? The doctors are worried the stress may bring on her contractions.”_  
  
“Oh my God, can you tell her I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She cut the call off. She had to get home but she had no idea how she was going to do it. With the way she was feeling it wasn’t safe for her to drive. “Daniel, I need your help.”  
  
He stood stock still, not moving. She could faintly see the outline of his face, his eyes that were normally so clear and bright, we’re hooded and dark. “Please, I don’t know what’s happened between us since I took that call but if you can’t do it for me then please do it for Christina.”  
  
That was all he needed to move into gear, he helped her to the sofa, ordered her a taxi, got her a cup of sweet tea, packed her bag and even paid for the taxi fare to the train station. But in all that time he hardly said two words to her.  
  
Staring out of the taxi window as it drew away she could see his frame in the doorway briefly before he shut the door on the world and on her. She could do nothing more than just cry. 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9  
  
It had been well over twenty four hours by the time Betty finally let herself into her apartment, her case trundling behind her but still in better shape than the exhausted, wreck of a woman she’d transfigured into over the course of the day. The first thing that struck was how quiet it was, the second was that Matt had left her something to eat. A note he’d fixed to her TV had told her that he’d found himself a hotel room and that he hoped she enjoyed the casserole. ‘We’ll talk in a couple of days.’  
  
She pulled the note from the TV, screwed it up and threw it over her shoulder. “Will we?” She murmured, before picking up the rubbish and putting it in the bin. Just another thing to add to her list of disappointments where Matt was concerned; when the going got tough, he shipped out.  
  
She was tired. After spending every single moment that she’d had since arriving back in London with Christina until Christina’s mother had arrived, Betty felt drained. She’d soothed Christina’s grief, hoping that the pain and loss wouldn’t cause any problems with the baby, and although Christina was one of the toughest people she knew, she also realised that this could break her friend. She had to wonder, how much could you prepare yourself for this kind of thing? They’d known it could happen, they just hadn’t known when. And what about the children, Will no longer had his father and the new baby would never know him.  
  
It was hard to make comparisons, but grief was still grief. She thought about how Hilda had reacted when she’d lost Santos and how Betty had looked after the family for weeks on end as Papi was still in Mexico. Maybe she could draw strength from that. Or even from after her mother’s death when the family had had to pull together in order to come out the other side closer knit than any one could’ve imagined, especially when Hilda had broken the news that she was pregnant.  
  
And then there was Daniel and Molly, how he’d lost her so quickly after finding her. The way he’d just broken down with his grief and then tried to get Molly back in any way he could. And Betty had been there for him too, through every stage of his grief she’d stood by his side and helped him to start over.  
  
And now, she understood. Christina wasn’t the only one grieving. She was too. She’d lost the one thing that was important to her. Daniel. For hadn’t she been the one that had cried to herself virtually all of the way home remembering all too clearly the terrible look on his face as he’d closed the door and his life on her. He’d meant his actions to mean finality, and she was grieving for what she could no longer see for them, a future together.  
  
Pulling her phone from her bag she saw that the battery was dead so plugged it in to charge. Various message updates and missed phone calls whizzed across the screen and she scanned them for anything that she felt was important. Or rather, that there was anything from Daniel. But there was nothing, not one text or call from him. “He must really hate me and I don’t know why?”  
  
If ever there was a good time to try starting the healing process, now seemed like a good one. She rang his phone but he wasn’t picking up. She’d have to try something else. ‘Daniel, we need to talk.’ She texted,  
  
 _‘Do we?’_  Came the reply.  
  
‘Yes, but maybe not tonight. I’m sorry I had to rush off like that.’  
  
 _‘How’s Christina?’_  
  
So he had a heart, ‘she’s not doing too well. Her mom turned up about two hours ago and I’ve only just got home. She hasn’t had the baby yet either so hopefully the pregnancy will ride out the storm.’  
  
 _‘Send her my best wishes.’_  
  
‘I will.’ She paused, she really needed to ask him about his reaction to the call from Matt, but would he be prepared to say anything at all, however small it was? ‘What happened back there?’  
  
Silence. “No, please not again.” She cried, ‘Daniel?’  
  
 _‘We’ll talk soon. Have you eaten?’_  
  
“What?” ‘No not yet, Matt made a casserole but I’m too upset to eat.’  
  
 _‘You have to eat. Christina needs you.’_  
  
She knew he was right but it wasn’t Christina’s situation that was causing her diminished appetite. ‘I need you.’  
  
 _‘I hope Matt makes you happy.’_  
  
He thought she was with Matt. ‘Daniel, please. It’s not like that; you’ve got it all wrong.’  
  
 _‘Bye Betty.’_  
  
‘Daniel?’  
  
‘Are you there?’  
  
‘Fine, then we’ll talk when you’re ready to. Just don’t take another year over it!’  
  
She laid back on her bed, unable to stop the torrent of tears and misery that swept over her. She huddled into a ball, pulling the edge of the duvet over herself whilst she sank further into her depression. Why did everything involving Daniel have to be so complicated? She sobbed her heart out, the tears and noises she was making only stopping when her body shut down and gave way to exhaustion. Then she got her answer,  _because you betrayed him_.

.oOo.

For three long days Betty had thrown herself into anything and everything she could in order to take her mind off Daniel. Most of the time she couldn’t sleep, so she worked. Admittedly it was on the Wayfarer piece but she was grown up enough to be able to write impartially on the subject, regardless of Daniel’s involvement. When she wasn’t working she was with Christina, staying with her friend when Christina needed a shoulder to cry on, or babysitting Will whilst Christina’s mother took a turn or Christina slept.  
  
By the morning of the fourth day, she was looking forward to having a little change, even if that meant meeting with Matt for lunch. As she walked into the restaurant she spotted him, it was difficult not to when he was beckoning her over like a mad person, to a table that was located towards the rear of the dining room. She could see that he wanted to hug her but she couldn’t deal with that. Avoiding his arms, she kissed him on each cheek and sat down in the bench seat opposite him. “You look terrible,” Matt smiled, trying to make things seem a little better although his face showed his concern. The black eyes, the gaunt expression and the drooping shoulders weren’t trademark Betty, even with better clothing.  
  
“Thanks,” she responded, but as she was in no mood for joviality she kept it neutral. “And for the casserole, it was very thoughtful.”  
  
“I just figured you’d need some help, even if it was only one small thing.”  
  
She half smiled, “you found a hotel room then?”  
  
“Yes, I thought you should have your space back. You didn’t need me around to be your nurse maid.” He started playing with his cutlery. “Look Betty, I’m sorry I was so angry with you on the phone. I mean it’s not like we’re dating or anything, I had no right to sound off at you because you were out.”  
  
“I shouldn’t have left my phone behind,” she sniffed. “The only time I don’t have it with me ...”  
  
Matt’s hands found their way across the table hoping to hold onto hers, but she moved away. Having him try to comfort her wasn’t going to help the situation whatever Matt thought. “It’s not your fault. You weren’t to know.”  
  
“Matt, I’d only spoken to Christina that morning, she’d told me that Stuart had fallen over and the doctors had been running some tests. I should have realised that something could go wrong.”  
  
“No one could’ve predicted that, Betty.”  
  
She shook her head, her hands furiously wiping away any tear that dared to fall. “I shouldn’t even be talking to you about this.”  
  
“No, you shouldn’t.” Betty looked up catching his expression. “I should’ve stayed away, completely. I should never have come to London. I’m sorry.”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“We both know we can’t make us work again. I was just too dense to realise that. Daniel Meade should be sat here instead of me.”  
  
Betty didn’t say a word and then, “yes!”  
  
He smiled, “thank you.”  
  
“What for?”  
  
“For being honest with me when I wasn’t being honest with myself. There’s no way I can compete with him.” Her brows furrowed, “that punch, it was pretty powerful for a man that was only defending your honour.”  
  
“Matt?” Betty sighed and shook her head at him, but he smiled.  
  
“Hey, I was angry then.” He chuckled. “When I showed up in London and saw that you were on your own I really thought I had a chance to get it together with you again. But when Lindsey told me where you were this week and did a bit of research, I knew it wouldn’t be long before the two of you got over your differences.”  
  
“It’s not like that, Matt.”  
  
“Betty, I’m not stupid. You only had to see you two together to understand that your friendship ran a lot deeper than either one of you appreciated.”  
  
“It did. For a short while.” Her mouth twitched as a lone tear ran down over her cheek. “He saw my phone when you called. It completely closed him down. He bundled me into a taxi Sunday evening and I haven’t spoken to him since.” She wiped her face. “After all, it’s not like he’s round the corner, I can’t just pop over and see him. I need to be here for Christina and Will. And work. I just don’t know what to do.”  
  
She watched him get up from his seat before scooting over on the bench so that he could sit next to her, taking her into his arms and just letting her cry. “I knew he was an idiot.” She sniggered momentarily, “I can’t believe he let the best girl in the world go, and not only once.”  
  
“We’re obviously just not meant to be together.”  
  
“Is that your head or your heart talking?”  
  
She sighed, “my head,” she whispered. She didn’t need Matt to tell her that she should listen to her heart instead. “So, what are you going to do?”  
  
“I’m going to go home and work out what to do next.” He lifted her chin, “what are you going to do?”  
  
She shrugged, “I guess I’ll keep on trying to stay in contact, but what if he never gets back in touch with me?”  
  
“Quite frankly Betty, if he doesn’t then he doesn’t deserve you ... but he’ll come round, once he’s got past the stubbornness and the stupidity he’ll take your calls, and you’ll forgive him like you always do. Hopefully I’ll get an invite to the Suarez Meade wedding, where I can get drunk and let everyone there know about how Daniel couldn’t possibly satisfy you in bed as much as I could very loudly.”  
  
“To which, you’ll probably be introduced to his right hook again.” They laughed. “We can be friends, right?”  
  
“Of course, I’d be upset if we weren’t. My mother may beg to differ though. Or actually Daniel for that matter.”  
  
“He’s part of your extended family; you’ll both have to get over the rivalry at some point in time.”  
  
“Maybe when we’re all old and grey and my mother’s no longer alive. Seriously though, if he really is the man that you desire then I’m cool about it.” He took her hands in his. “We’ll always have some good memories won’t we? But I think we work better as friends.” Betty nodded. He sat back before taking up the menus and handing one over to Betty. “Ok, well I think perhaps we best order something before they chuck us out.”

.oOo.

Daniel awoke with a start having just fallen off the sofa, a rip tide of pain rising up from his hip with the sudden impact it had made against the corner of an empty bottle of Jack that was seemingly welded into his hand. “Argh!” He threw the bottle against the closest wall.  
  
That’s when the banging started and not just confined inside of his head. “Ok, ok, I’m coming.” He shouted, somehow managing to get to his feet and stagger out into the hall before opening the door.  
  
Alexis stepped into the cottage banging the door shut behind her. “Oh, I really hate it when I’m right.”  
  
“If all you’re going to do is insult me then you can leave.”  
  
“That’s not all I’m going to do, but it’s a start.” She picked her way through the rubbish in the living room, kicking empty cans and bottles out of the way in her wake. She picked up a couple of the bottles, vodka, scotch, gin, they were all there. “This isn’t healthy. What the hell is going on with you?”  
  
He shrugged, “Betty …”  
  
“Betty what?”  
  
He shrugged again, his face a picture of utter despair not to mention that he was still finding it difficult to even string a couple of words together to make a sentence. “She’s seeing Matt Hartley.”  
  
Alexis had pulled out a roll of bin bags and was beginning to pick up trash, “no she’s not.”  
  
“Yes, she is.”  
  
“Daniel Meade, Betty is not seeing Matt Hartley.”  
  
“How do you know that?”  
  
She stopped what she was doing, “Because believe it or not I care a great deal about my little brother. As soon as I found out he was on his way home I took steps to have him followed.”  
  
“What? Are you crazy?”  
  
“Maybe a little.” She shook her head, “but it was all for you, Danny. He was staying with her for a couple of days, she got the assignment on Wayfarers, came here and by the time she got home he had already moved himself out of her apartment.” She carried the second sack to the back door. “When I got the call from Philippe, who is extremely pissed off at you by the way, I thought it best to come over and sort you out. Again.”  
  
Alexis gave him the once over, “you don’t look too hot Danny.” He looked pitiful, the sweatpants and varsity pullover he was wearing had definitely seen better days, his housecoat was slung over his frame like he had a hunch on one side and there was a hole in one sock. His hair looked as if it hadn’t seen a brush in days and he had a weird beard thing going on. But the worst of it was his eyes, red and puffy, and extremely watery. Her heart softened, she crossed the distance and hugged him, and that’s when he began to sob.  
  
“Come on, let’s get you upstairs. You can get yourself cleaned up, have a shave. I’ll get some dinner on and then we can talk,” she cooed. He nodded letting her lead the way.  
  
She ran him a bath whilst he undressed. Once he was in the tub she made sure he had a towel and fresh clothes, before picking up what he’d been wearing and consigning them to the bin as well. Then she methodically checked the rest of the house for any signs of alcohol, pouring anything she did find down the sink. She just needed to get temptation out of his way long enough so that he could see sense. Quickly going to the grocers for provisions, she let herself back in and started to prepare a Sicilian roast chicken, knowing that it was one of Daniel’s favourites and kept checking on him every twenty minutes or so in order to make sure that he was ok.  
  
Daniel reappeared about an hour later, “something smells good,” he attempted a smile.  
  
Alexis turned to look at her brother, a broad smile on her face. “Well, someone looks good. Dinner will be about twenty minutes. I found your cell while I was cleaning up so I put it on charge and there are several messages. Why don’t you check them out?”  
  
 _Several messages?_ He picked up his phone and started listening to the voicemail.  
  
 _“Welcome to your messaging service, you have eight messages.”_  
  
“Oh God,” he tried swallowing the lump that had developed in a manner of seconds in his throat.  
  
 _“Daniel, where are you, I could really do with some ‘elp over ‘ere.”_  The first was from Philippe, he was sure it wouldn’t be the last.  
  
 _“Daniel, what’s going on, I’m starting to get a bit worried.”_ And that was the second.  
  
 _“Daniel. Merde. I’m seriously annoyed. I’m calling your sister, ‘opefully she will ‘ave better luck with you than me.”_  “Oh, dear.” Daniel started biting his lip.  
  
 _“Danny, Philippe is pissed off with you and rightly so. I’m coming over and you better have not been drinking. I’ve also spoken to mom, so expect a call from her too.”_  He spun on his heel and looked at his sister; she was busy finishing off the chicken.  
  
 _“Daniel, it’s you mother. I can’t tell you how sorry I am to hear about you and Betty and from Victoria Hartley of all people too. If you want me to come over and stay with you earlier than I was going to then you only have to ask.”_ What had Mrs Hartley said to his mother? What news would she have that she could gloat over? Unless Alexis was telling the truth.  
  
 _“Hi Daniel … erm it’s Betty … I’m really not sure of what to say to you other than to ask you what happened. Everything was just so …”_ “Perfect!” He said.  _“Perfect. And then I got that call from Matt, which I can only assume you saw or heard … or even both, and you shut yourself off. I’ve been trying to think of what I could’ve done differently but there was nothing I could do and if that means that I have to accept that you and I are … are … over before we’ve only really begun then that’s what I’ll have to do.”_ There was an extremely long pause, he could hear her sniffling, she was obviously crying. Then she whispered,  _“but I won’t like it. Just let me know one way or another what you want me to do, you can text or email me if you still don’t feel like talking.”_  
  
He sat down on the edge of the sofa, there were still two messages.  _“Hi Daniel, it’s Betty again. I haven’t heard anything from you yet about how things are between us. Please just let me know you’re ok, if nothing else. I’m worried that you’re not ok at all. That you’ve fallen back into your old ways. Drinking heavily maybe. I’m not worth that.”_ “Yes you are,” he said as he could hear her crying again.  _“I can’t bear to think that you’re all alone with no one to look after you especially if you are drinking. I think I’m going to call your mom.”_ His heart went out to her; she really was worried about him.  
  
 _“Hi Daniel, I’ve spoken to your mom. She’s told me not to worry because Alexis is on her way over to you, that’s if you don’t already know about that.”_ “Thanks,” he smiled.  _“We had a good chat, caught up with lots of news. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know about Alexis and to tell you that I really miss you.”_ He couldn’t tell what was happening, he couldn’t hear if she was crying or not.  _“Daniel, I know that you said we’d talk later but since looking after Christina, I’ve been thinking. You’re obviously dealing with something that neither one of us can comprehend at the moment, if only you could find some way to explain to me what is going on but you’re either too scared to or just don’t care enough to do anything about it. I really feel like I’ve been grieving too, just like Christina is, like Hilda did when Santos was killed and like you when you lost Molly and I really don’t want to feel like this anymore. I felt we had something so special, something worth saving but if you’d only talk to me so I didn’t feel like everything is gone then maybe I could see a future for us. But I can’t and I can’t live like this. This will be the last call I make, it’s far too upsetting leaving messages that you won’t answer. You know where I am if you want to talk but I can’t be more than just your friend anymore. I do love you but it hurts too much when things go wrong. And they always seem to be going wrong for us.”_ ”Don’t say that Betty.” Tears were streaming down his own face as he could hear her sobbing on the other end of the line.  _“I’m sorry, Daniel. Bye.”_  “Betty?”  
  
Alexis’ hand was on Daniel’s shoulder, “what’s up?”  
  
He handed her his phone, “last three messages.” He sat back so that she could sit on the arm of the sofa. He watched her face as a myriad of emotions swept across it whilst she listened to his voicemail.  
  
When Betty’s last message began to play, Alexis moved, sitting down next to Daniel and holding his hand. Her face fell although he could see nothing but compassion in her eyes. She switched the cell off before pulling him into her arms. “Oh Danny, I don’t know what to say.”  
  
“There’s nothing to say is there?” He choked out, “other than what’s already been said. I allowed jealousy to take root and I’ve lost the only person I care enough about to want to die for because of it. She lives in my soul, Alexis; I can’t just let her go.”  
  
“Ok. So when we’re up in London next week talking to the mayor, you’d best find her and make sure she knows that.”

.oOo.

It had been a slow week before Alexis, Philippe and Daniel had travelled up to London and now Daniel was settling into his hotel room. The bed was super comfortable, so much so that he’d have to work out why and make the changes at home. The TV was extra big filling near enough the whole wall opposite the bed and the drinks cabinet; well he just wasn’t even going there. He’d been severely reprimanded by Alexis and told that under no circumstance was he to touch a drop until at least the press conference was over with. But he had no intention of drinking himself into oblivion, he was done with that regardless of anything Betty could say or do to him to make him do otherwise, there was no point in finding solace at the bottom of a bottle. Besides he was looking forward to tomorrow afternoon too much to think about much else and right now he had to prepare for the meeting and the following press conference.  
  
There was a knock on the door before Alexis wandered in. Daniel was already comfortable lying along the sofa, his back propped up by one arm, his bare feet propped up on the opposite arm and his laptop in his lap. “Philippe and I are going to grab a bite to eat; you can join us if you wish.” She watched as he tapped away furiously on his keyboard. “But it appears you’re already comfortable.”  
  
He looked up, smiling. “I am thanks. I think I’m just going to chill out here, put some music on, order room service and catch up with a few bits before tomorrow. Besides, I wouldn’t be a very good chaperone.”  
  
Alexis grinned, “You’re really ok with us aren’t you?”  
  
“If you end up marrying the guy then it keeps the business in the family.” She frowned, her hands on her hips. “I’m joking. Besides if you like the guy then who am I to stand in the way of true love.”  
  
“Hmm. I do like him though, a lot. And he doesn’t seem to have a problem with what I did to myself.”  
  
“Then he’s definitely a keeper.”  
  
“Thanks, Daniel.”  
  
“My pleasure. You kids run along and have some fun now, you hear?”  
  
“Thanks Pa!” Alexis giggled as she ran from his room. He shook his head, Alexis was so multi-faceted, one minute she’d be all tough and butch and then the next she’d be filled with compassion and acting like a school girl. He did love her though and he was only too happy for her to be seeing Philippe, after all he knew Philippe would look after her and love her the way that she deserved to be loved. So the only Meade child he had to worry about was himself.  
  
Deciding to order some food, he sat and read all of the reports including the first test results for the second prototype that Jay had been working frantically on for over two weeks. Once his food had arrived, he moved over to the table and went through the notes for the meeting getting his answers ready for what they hoped the mayor’s office would be asking them questions about. Before finally looking at how the press conference was going to be set out and who was going to say what, he read through his spiel a couple of times just to get the measure of it. He knew he’d be ok.  
  
He then pulled his copy of ‘The Capital’ from his bag and read the article that Betty had written for Wayfarer. She had done a magnificent job considering what she’d had to deal with lately including his own selfishness, she had been constructive, impartial and held a belief that the mayor, and no doubt future purchasers, would indeed want to buy Wayfarer yachts. He began to wonder if she would be at the press conference. She had every right to be, her article would certainly help their progress. But did he really want to be confronted by her so soon and by way of work rather than personal time?  
  
He checked out the list of press representatives, her name wasn’t on the list but Lindsey Dunne’s was. He would have to make his introduction to the man that had single-handedly made his relationship with Betty what it now was. If only Dunne hadn’t offered her that job, he and Betty would at least still be in New York playing at being just good friends. Not that he wanted that either and he couldn’t really blame Dunne. All he really wanted was what they’d shared that wonderful weekend and would still be sharing if it wasn’t for Matt.  _And Christina_  he reminded himself.  
  
“Roll on tomorrow afternoon,” he flicked through to the front of the magazine and looked at her smiling face. She really was beautiful. He traced her face and lips with his index finger as he so often did with the pictures he had of her at home. “Please forgive me Betty, don’t lose faith in me completely. I love you.”  
  
He got himself ready for bed, his pj bottoms slung low on his hips and as he crossed the room to his bed he wondered how his and Betty’s first night may have played out if she’d never got that call. But that was a little close to the knuckle so decided on a safer subject. How about their wedding night, spending it in a hotel room not dissimilar to this one, her still in her dress waiting for him to help her out of it. She looked back at him, a coy expression on her face as he slowly undid every last button that ran down the length of her back. “Why are there so many?” He heard himself ask.  
  
“Daniel, it’s a wedding dress, it’s meant to have buttons and satin and old lace,” her smile was still shy even with her joke.  
  
“Which was fine over a hundred years ago, you haven’t got about ten petticoats on under here as well have you?” He grinned, sitting down on the edge of the bed and pulling her towards him.  
  
“No only the one, are you nearly done? Can I help?”  
  
“Oh, you getting frustrated too, Betty?”  
  
She turned briefly, “I guess I didn’t think this through did I?”  
  
“Come on there’s only a couple more.” He finished the job and stood back up behind her, smoothing the fabric off her shoulders and down her arms, placing butterfly kisses on her neck and over her back. “You’re so beautiful.” He unhitched her petticoat and let that slip down around her feet. “Put your arm around me,” He said before picking her up into his arms and walking with her towards the bed. He sat her on the edge before picking up her dress and laying it over the sofa. He took off his jacket and tie and laid them over a chair, pushing the cufflinks out of the holes of his shirt cuffs and leaving them on the night stand next to where Betty was sat. Even though this wasn’t their first time she appeared so virginal in her lingerie. It wasn’t anyway near her usual underwear; the satin strapless body that she wore followed every line and curve whilst the cups hugged her breasts. The embroidery detailing and sparkling seed beads were subtle yet exquisite and the lace panels showed just enough skin to make his blood heat up. Kneeling down in front of her he picked up her hands in his own and kissed the back of both. “I’m glad we finally got here.”  
  
He allowed her to take a hand and touch his cheek, “it took us a while.”  
  
“Yes, but it was worth it.” He bent towards her, “at least I think so.” He whispered, before taking her mouth and kissing her, “I love you Betty Meade.”  
  
She giggled, “How long is it going to take for me to get used to that?”  
  
“You’re ruining the moment, Mrs Meade.”  
  
“Sorry,” she said, her hands snaking around his neck and pulling them both down on to the bed in another kiss, “I’m sure I can think of a way to make it up to you.”  
  
“I’m sure you can,” he said before losing himself in her completely.  
  
Daniel lay back on the bed and closed his eyes. He really needed everything to go well tomorrow or he could forget about Betty becoming his. He sighed, “if I can please have one wish, then let it be that one. I don’t care how we get there I just want to make her mine.”

.oOo.

“Mr Dunne?” Daniel called out as he crossed the conference room.  
  
“Ah, Mr Meade. It’s finally good to meet the man behind the success of Wayfarer and who was also kind enough to give up his brightest employee.”  
  
Daniel smiled, “Well, I don’t know about that but Betty certainly seems to be flourishing here, ‘The Capital’ is a wonderful magazine.”  
  
“Yes, she’s surpassed any expectations I had, even in light of recent events involving Mrs McKinney.”  
  
“It must have been a very trying time. I know from first-hand experience how difficult it is to carry on in that situation.”  
  
“Betty has been a tremendous help.”  
  
“I don’t doubt that, she’s usually the first to help when someone’s in trouble and always the last to leave. I did wonder if she would actually be here herself what with the great piece she wrote about the boatyard.”  
  
“Ordinarily she would be, but she’s been working herself to the bone and looking very tired, so I gave her a couple of days off. Besides the mayor and I go way back, although I would have liked to have introduced Betty to him. There’s plenty of time for that though isn’t there?”  
  
Daniel smiled politely, before extending his hand to the older gentleman. “Thank you for looking after her.”  
  
Dunne took his hand and started to shake it fervently, “it was the least I could do. However, I think there is someone else that should be doing that job instead of me,” Dunne’s eyes twinkled as he smiled. “I take it you’ll be making you way down to County Hall this afternoon.”  
  
“Yes, I am. I have a ticket for the London Eye.”  
  
“That’s good. Nice to meet you Mr Meade, hopefully we’ll meet again soon.”  
  
“Sure.” And with that he was gone.  
  
Daniel didn’t want to waste a second. He walked out of the conference room, across the foyer and out the front door of the Mayfair hotel before hailing a cab. “County Hall, please.” He said, hoping that there wouldn’t be too much traffic.  
  
As he sat back he realised he recognised the tune that was playing on the radio from the mix he’d played in his room the night before. “Would you mind turning this song up?” He asked the driver.  
  
“No probs, guv,” the driver obliged, as the notes and words that followed filled his head.  
  
 _Calling over, to seize my hunger, to see you, to feel you, to be with, near you.  
  
We hold out, we hold on, I'm older, colder, here it comes light up my sky.  
  
Yeah we share the same sun, everyday; yeah we share the same sun, everyday_  
  
 _When the light goes out for you at home, it shines for me in early dawn, we're worlds apart but now I see, I'm in your heart whenever we are apart, and the sky shines bright_  
  
And that was exactly how he felt about Betty, they shared the same sun but were worlds apart. Despite everything Betty definitely had a piece of his heart and he was sure he still owned part of hers. All he had to do was make sure it was true. As he walked down the steps towards the eye he caught sight of her coming from the other direction, now all he had to do was make it look like their meeting was accidental. 

.oOo.

Betty had decided that as the day was so warm and bright she would take a walk along the South Bank. She got off the tube at London Bridge and found the riverside path, taking her time as she had a good couple of hours to kill before the start time of her ride on the London Eye.  
  
Having still not been on it since moving to London, Betty was beside herself with excitement. She’d even studied her London travel guide in order to be able to tell the sights she was looking at with the use of her binoculars rather than having to look at some televisual monitor showing her where she was. She’d only be up there for 30 minutes after all.  
  
She decided that she’d put on her iPod to accompany her as she walked past the Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. It was such a lovely day and she couldn’t believe how lucky she was the Lindsey had given her some time to herself. Then when Christina had given her the ticket for the London Eye everything seemed to be falling into place to be a great day. And with having so few of them recently this would definitely be good for her.  
  
 _White lights, blinding, headlights, driving, to see you, to feel you, to be with, near you  
  
We hold out, we hold on, I'm older, colder, here it comes light up my sky_  
  
She really loved this song and wondered if she’d ever be able to get tickets to see the band play live, but then decided it wouldn’t be much fun for her if she had to go on her own.  
  
 _Yeah we share the same sun, everyday; yeah we share the same sun, everyday_  
  
 _When the light goes out for you at home, it shines for me in early dawn, we're worlds apart but now I see, I'm in your heart whenever we are apart, and the sky shines bright_  
  
 _Within the morning sun, our time has just begun, so in the morning sun, our time to run will come_  
  
Only problem was that even though she loved the song it reminded her of her situation with Daniel.  
  
 _When the light goes out for you at home, i_ _t shines for me in early dawn, we're worlds apart but now I see, I'm in your heart whenever we are apart, and the sky shines bright_  
  
Being worlds apart although sharing the same sun, with Daniel consuming her heart although she was no longer a piece of his. She looked up towards the top of the wheel, it was certainly high, and she only hoped she didn’t get vertigo.  
  
 _Yeah we share the same sun, everyday_  
  
Continuing to wonder at the height, she bumped into someone as she turned on the spot. “Betty?”  
  
“Oops sorry,” she said, before she was steadied by someone’s hands holding her up by her upper arms. Looking up into those all too familiar blue eyes, she realised it wasn’t just anyone. “Daniel?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: If you're interested the song used is Stereophonics - 'We Share the Same Sun'.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10  
  
It hadn’t taken them long to be ushered to the front of the queue, “how come we got pushed up?” Betty asked Daniel.  
  
Daniel looked at his ticket but nothing sprang out at him, “I don’t know,” he shrugged, giving her his hand so that he could help her into the capsule. “Alexis never mentioned anything different about this ticket.” He stepped on behind her, the door closed with a hiss.  
  
“Yeah, well about that Daniel. How come we’re both on this alone together?” She scrutinized his ticket, “look these are both booked by the same credit card. And what’s with the champagne,” she pointed to the ice bucket and two crystal flute glasses, “and these, these,” she picked up the pink box and read, “pink champagne truffles. Ok, I could go for some candy right now.”  
  
“I don’t know,” he said again. She gave him her look that meant ‘don’t mess with me’, her hands firmly planted on her hips. “Look, all I do know is that Alexis gave me this one and that you’d be here with the other.”  
  
 _“Welcome aboard the London Eye Cupid’s Capsule.”_  The announcement began.  
  
Betty stood staring at Daniel, one eyebrow raised skyward, “Cupid’s Capsule?”  
  
“I didn’t know, I swear.” He pleaded.  
  
 _“Please sit back and relax with your champagne and truffles whilst we fly you and your loved one across the romantic backdrop of London.”_  
  
“You have  _got_  to be kidding me.” Betty muttered, as she waltzed past Daniel delving in her bag for her binoculars. Pulling them out she started to search the crowd below. “You may as well make yourself useful; I suppose we might as well enjoy this.”  
  
“I’m abstaining.” She heard Daniel say but he popped the cork from somewhere behind her and it landed at her feet.  
  
“Abstaining, you?” She picked up the cork and threw it back to him, before continuing her search. “Aah, there you are.” She could clearly make out Alexis and Philippe but who was the third? “Oh, Christina?”  
  
Daniel was by her side in an instant a full glass in hand, he swapped with her as she strode back to the seat and he sought out the ensemble. “Betty, do you think they did this so that we’d talk to one another?”  
  
“It’s possible,” she said, knocking back the champagne. “We haven’t been very good at that recently have we?”  
  
He sat next to her and nudged her arm, “hey careful with that, you know what you’re like when you drink too much.” She smiled.  
  
“So why are you abstaining?”  
  
“I went on a bender just after you left.”  
  
“For how long?”  
  
“Four days.”  
  
“Oh God.”  
  
“And four nights.”  
  
“Jeez, Daniel. What happened?”  
  
He shrugged again, “Matt Hartley happened.”  
  
“He was only calling me because Christina couldn’t.”  
  
“I know that  _now_ , Betty. It took both Alexis and mom to tell me that you weren’t seeing him. I guess I just saw his name on your phone and panicked.”  
  
“And panicked?”  
  
“You know how I feel about him, how I felt about what he’s done to you. The way he left you like that after everything you’d done to get him back.”  
  
“And didn’t you think that I was adult enough to make my own judgement call on that one? Yes, it was good to see him again but there was no way I was ever going to pick up where we’d left off. If you’d trusted me a little more?”  
  
“Betty, I trust you with my life. I just don’t trust anyone else, particularly Matt Hartley or any of your other ex’s either.”  
  
“So what? Did your ego get in the way? Or was it simply a case of the green eyed monster?”  
  
“I was jealous, ok?”  
  
“You had nothing to be jealous of.” She looked away from him and out across the water, “hey, have we stopped?”  
  
“Don’t they usually stop it for disabled people to get on?” He got up and stood next to her.  
  
“Yeah, but it’s usually only seconds, I’d say we’ve been here like this for a good five or ten minutes.”  
  
“Really? I hadn’t noticed.” And he hadn’t, he’d been so involved in his conversation with Betty that he just hadn’t realised that they were no longer moving.”  
  
The speaker above their heads hissed into life.  _“We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused by the London Eye’s systems crashing. We are in the process of rebooting and hope to have you back on your journey as soon as possible.”_  
  
Daniel and Betty both looked down, it was a long way. They must have been nearly at the top. “I think I need a drink,” Daniel confessed, “I’m not good with heights.”  
  
Betty turned towards him, “who’d have thought that Daniel Meade would suffer from Vertigo?” She teased. “How come you were able to work in an office twenty odd storeys up and own a loft space?  
  
“Because they both had solid floors.” He replied, “This is kind of different.” He stepped back into the middle of the capsule and found a seat. “I also get a little claustrophobic.”  
  
Betty could see that he was becoming agitated. She sat next to him and took his much larger hands into her smaller ones. She looked him dead in the eye, “stay with me Daniel.” He looked towards her, his face a crumpled mess as he tried to hold it together. “Why did you come on here?”  
  
“Because I’d be with you and I figured thirty minutes would be ok.”  
  
She sighed, putting an arm around his back. “Well, we can see everything from here,” she babbled. “Look that’s the Shard over there.”  
  
He followed her pointing finger but said, “I’m not really that interested.”  
  
“But it’s such a fantastic skyline to look at.”  
  
“I guess. It’s better at night.”  
  
“After we finally get off this wheel, I’ll never be able to get you back on it again to show me the city lights.”  
  
“Maybe not, but we could always go up the Shard instead? You know, solid floors.”  
  
“But not solid walls.”  
  
“We’ll think of something.” He tried to grin but failed.  
  
“Ok, that’s a deal.” She looked back to Daniel, “why didn’t you just ask me about Matt?”  
  
“It was like I was possessed or something, I just saw his name light up the screen on your cell and I lost it. Totally. I wish we could just go back and try that part again.” He said hopefully.  
  
“I wish …” Her cell suddenly began ringing, “sorry, I’m going to have to take this.”  
  
“That’s ok.”  
  
Betty pressed the accept button on her phone, “Hi Lindsey.”  
  
 _“Betty, where are you?”_  
  
“Stuck on the London Eye … it’s a long story.”  
  
 _“Oh, right. Is Daniel with you?”_  
  
“Yes, he is,” she looked at Daniel in confusion, how had Lindsey known about them being together? Perhaps he was in on it too. “Why?”  
  
 _“There’s rioting in Tottenham and you’re the only one I trust to get the facts and discuss them impartially in ‘The Capital’, but I don’t want you to go alone. I think you should take Daniel with you for moral support and just to make sure you scrape through in one piece.”_  
  
“Hang on, I’ll ask.” She covered the microphone with her hand. “Lindsey needs me to go and cover a story in Tottenham where riots have broken out following a demonstration this afternoon. He also suggests I take you with me for my protection. Would you?”  
  
Daniel didn’t hesitate, “of course, I couldn’t let you go on your own.”  
  
“Do you happen to have your press pass on you?”  
  
Now he hesitated, he pulled out his wallet and quickly looked through it; the card was still stuffed at the back, “yes!” He smiled.  
  
Betty put her cell back to her ear, “Daniel’s prepared to chaperone and he has his press pass on him so we’ll have no trouble getting in.”  
  
 _“Great, I’ll speak to you once you have some thoughts on how we should cover this.”_  
  
“This won’t affect the piece I’m doing on Christina for this month, will it?”  
  
 _“No, I think whatever you come up with for the riots will sit very well with Christina’s story.”_  
  
“OK, I’ll text you when I’m done.”  
  
 _“Thanks Betty, and thanks to Daniel too. Good luck.”_  
  
She hung up. “Lindsey sends his thanks.”  
  
“None needed, you know I’d do anything for you.”  
  
“Oh.” Betty’s hands fidgeted in her lap, “about that …”  
  
He cut her off, “we’re moving again.” And so they were. Even if Lindsey had had something to do with the two of them showing up at the same place and time, he also had friends in high places. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind that he had managed to get the wheel moving again. As if quantifying her thoughts, Daniel said, “do you think he got the mayor onto it?”  
  
She couldn’t help but smile at his words. “Probably, knowing Lindsey. He always seems to know someone who knows someone else.”  
  
“You’re his golden child, you know,” Daniel remarked.  
  
“Shut up, Daniel.”  
  
“No, it’s true. He sees the same thing in you that I did, all those years ago. He knows that you will make ‘The Capital’ into the premier London magazine. He just doesn’t want you to blow a fuse doing it. He’s worried about you.”  
  
“Did he say that to you?”  
  
“Yes, this morning at the conference. When I asked him why you weren’t there he told me he’d given you a few days vacation. He wanted to show you off to his friends, but he felt you needed some time to yourself.” She looked at him through sad eyes. “And I tend to agree with him. Betty, you’ve got to calm down a bit. Like I told you in my text, Christina needs you. She needs you strong and healthy. Have you been eating properly? Sleeping at all?”  
  
She hadn’t been doing anything properly and mostly because of the man sat in front of her. She shook her head. “Betty?”  
  
“Please, don’t Daniel, ok?”  
  
“We’re friends aren’t we?”  
  
She nodded, at least they could agree on that, “but that’s all we can be. There are things happening in my life at the moment that I’m not sure how to deal with and all I need from you right now is your support. Can you manage that?”  
  
“Yes,” he nodded. “To be honest, with the reception we received this morning we’re going to be extremely busy with the coming boat shows, it would probably be best if we put our relationship on hold for the moment anyway.”  
  
“Daniel, we need to stop thinking about that. It was a mistake; we should never have started something we knew we couldn’t finish. I can’t lose you a third time. I’d rather we stopped playing games and just got on with what we’re good at, being there for one another when we need them.”  
  
He was gobsmacked; he couldn’t believe she’d just said that. “If you think that’s all you can handle …”  
  
“It’s all I can handle. I love you but it’s just too difficult.”  
  
Finally, as they approached the dock, he got up and held her shoulders in his hands. His eyes searched hers, “so what we had isn’t worth fighting for because it’s too difficult?” He was angry now.  
  
“I’m sorry, Daniel. I just can’t fight any longer.”  
  
His hands dropped to his sides. Keeping quiet until they had departed the pod and Betty was hailing a cab on Waterloo Bridge. They chatted idly about all sorts of things but their conversation about their relationship was never mentioned again. He knew they could never recover the friendship that they once had but he would endeavour to make sure that there was always something between them even if it wasn’t what he wanted.  
  
By the time they’d reached Tottenham, Betty had given him the low down on what had happened before the riots had started. He had been made aware that a black man had been shot dead by police and that a peaceful protest, which had been started by friends and family of the deceased, had now turned nasty after the police had detained a sixteen year old girl for throwing a champagne bottle at them. As he processed the information he realised that he wasn’t keen on Betty becoming embroiled in what was going on but he also knew that any kind of interference on his part would not be welcomed by Betty. The best thing he could do was stay by her side making sure she was safe.  
  
When they arrived they showed their press passes and were allowed access into the area that had been set aside for the journalists. They looked out across the roads in front of them, it was chaos. People were everywhere, missiles were being thrown, shop windows were being smashed and goods looted as police were trying to contain the violence.  
  
Daniel noticed that bricks were being thrown towards the press, one heading right for Betty. He quickly pulled her towards him and turned them around, his body folding around hers in order to protect her. The brick landed just behind them with a thud and split into several pieces. “Thank you,” Betty gulped, if Daniel hadn’t moved her so quickly she could only imagine that she would have ended up in a hospital bed with concussion, if not worse.  
  
“This is getting far too dangerous, Betty.”  
  
“Yeah,” she held onto his hands, her knuckles turning white from how tightly she had hold. He pulled her into his arms, rubbing her back in order to try and calm her down. What was she doing here? Whatever it was, she certainly shouldn’t have been putting either herself or Daniel, for that matter, in so much danger.  
  
Daniel walked her to the back of the press area. “We have to get out of here, the longer we stay in this metal cage the longer we’re targets. Those people out there are not doing this for the cause Betty; they’re doing this for themselves.”  
  
He was right, of course, she knew that. “But I have to do my job?”  
  
“Not from a hospital bed you don’t.” She was still shaking; he could feel her body shivering against his. “Shh, calm down.” He kissed the top of her head. “We need to get out of here.” He took her hand and began walking out of the enclosure when something made him look up. In a building not too far away were a young woman and her two children in a flat above some shops that were now slowly burning.  
  
Stopping up short Betty banged into his back. “What’s up?” She asked.  
  
“Up there, look?”  
  
She looked up and saw what he had been looking at. “You’re not thinking of rescuing her are you?”  
  
“Someone’s got to.”  
  
“Daniel, be serious. The fire trucks will be here any minute.”  
  
“And what if there not.”  
  
“I can’t let you go.”  
  
“Why? Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t help that poor woman and her family.”  
  
“I love you.”  
  
He smiled, “but that isn’t enough, remember?”  
  
“But, Daniel?” Tears were welling up in her eyes.  
  
He held her shoulders, “I’ll be fine. I promise you. Just promise me that you’ll go and find a safe spot and stay there,” she nodded. And then he kissed her, they’d had sweet kisses before but nothing could ever compare to the depth of feeling that he was now showing her with this one small thing. He broke away, leaving her breathless and wanting more, before he made his way over to the burning building and disappeared around the back.  
  
She had a promise to keep. As she quickly darted down the street that they had arrived in by taxi not an hour before, she saw an ambulance crew and made her way over to them. “Hello?” she called out.  
  
A kindly looking paramedic made his way over to her, “are you hurt, miss?”  
  
“No, no. I’m fine. Nearly wasn’t but I’m good thanks.”  
  
“As long as you’re ok, then,” he went on about his business.  
  
Betty was undeterred. “Actually, it’s my friend.” Could she dare to hope for more? “My boyfriend. He’s just gone to help get some people out of a burning building and I wondered if you knew when the fire fighters might arrive.”  
  
“Where’s he gone?” He looked back up to where she was pointing. “Shit!” He got onto his emergency radio. “Barry, we’re going to have to stand by, some idiots just gone into that blaze on Vine Street to help out someone caught in an upstairs flat.” Betty flashed a smile at the paramedic. Daniel? Stupid? Never.  
  
“Roger that,” Barry said, “I’m getting someone over there now. Tenders on route but is still about five minutes away. Hope he doesn’t get himself killed in the meantime.” The paramedic looked across at Betty sympathetically. She lost her legs, she’d known it was stupid but he had been so determined.  
  
The paramedic was soon by her side, a space blanket wrapped around her shoulders and under her chin as she began to cry. He handed her his handkerchief before having to go and look after the next victim. As she sat on the grass verge all she could think about was how wrong she had been. Daniel was definitely worth fighting for and she prayed to any God that was looking down on them at that moment to keep him safe.

.oOo.

As Daniel made his way into the building he decided that he’d need to be quick about getting up the stairs and getting back out again. The first part he managed easily as he ran up the steps and managed to get into the room where the woman and her family were. “Do you have any blankets?” He asked the woman who said there were some upstairs. He went and found them before returning to the woman and instructing her to take her son, wrap the blanket around them both and run down the stairs and out of the door. He picked up the daughter in his arms and whilst she helped to get the blanket around them both, he made his way down to freedom.  
  
He set the girl down with her mother. “What happened to Tigger, mummy?” The girl cried.  
  
“Is that your cat?” Daniel asked, stroking the girl’s hair. She nodded. “Is the cat still definitely in there?” He asked the mother.  
  
“I think so, she went upstairs and I couldn’t get her back down again before locking us in the living room.”  
  
He looked back at the burning building. The last thing he wanted was to go back in there. After all, he’d promised Betty he’d be ok. “I’ll take a quick look,” he said before throwing the blanket around his shoulders once more and going back into the stairwell. This time he was tentative, the fire had been spreading rapidly since he’d rescued the family but he had to at least try and save the cat if he could. “Tigger?” He called out. Where was that blasted cat?  
  
 _Go back, Daniel. Go back now._  
  
“Molly?” There was something moving in front of him but he couldn’t quite make out what it was.  
  
 _Betty needs you._  
  
“Tigger?” He grabbed out at something in front of him. “Oh thank God,” he pulled the hissing and scratching beast under the blanket.  
  
 _I told you I’d keep your family safe Daniel, but how can I do that if you don’t have one._  
  
 “This isn’t the time,” He shouted into the flames.  
  
 _Get out, get out NOW!_  
  
He heard the crash above his head as he skipped down the stairs he could only just make out through the smouldering carcass. By the time he reached the hallway there was so much smoke he could hardly see where he was going. Unable to see a large chunk of debris at his feet he fell over it and landed on his chest winding himself.  
  
As the firemen arrived the cat ran through the front door and into the waiting arms of its owner. Dousing the flames at the entrance to the door they noticed Daniel lying prone, the blanket wrapped around his body and a large piece of wood burning on top of his left shoulder. He was picked up and brought outside before being placed on a stretcher and hurried into a waiting ambulance.

.oOo.

As soon as she’d noticed the fire engines arrive, Betty had run to the building that Daniel had gone into in order to get the family out. She noticed a figure on a stretcher, which was being pushed and locked into place inside the ambulance, before a mask was placed over the persons face and the oxygen cylinder opened up. She walked towards the back doors, “Daniel?” she asked.  
  
The female paramedic helped her into the back of the van before holding the mask away from his face so that Betty could at least identify him. “Is this Daniel?” She asked kindly.  
  
Betty merely nodded. The paramedic sat her down in a chair close to him, and strapped her in. “You can hold his hand if you like, but he was unconscious when they found him. Are you family?”  
  
Betty nodded, “his girlfriend.”  
  
The paramedic lay her hand on Betty’s shoulder, “when you get to the hospital I’d suggest you tell them that you’re his fiancé, at least. That way they’ll tell you everything.”  
  
“Thanks.”  
  
The paramedic left her to it, jumping down from the back of the ambulance and closing the door on them. Betty bent down to kiss his face, tears dripping everywhere. “You promised me you’d look after yourself. I will fight for you, with whatever it takes to get you to come back to me. I need you Daniel. I love you. I’m yours. Please, be ok.”  
  
As they got to the hospital she continued to hold his hand right up until the moment that Daniel had to go into A&E. The staff nurse held onto Betty tightly and found a room where she could sit quietly and wait for any news, before popping back with a cup of tea and sitting with her through her break. “Is there anyone you want to call?”  
  
Betty nodded, she still wasn’t quite sure what was going on but she really didn’t want to face this on her own. The nurse helped her with her phone and with dialling the number. “Christina? It’s Betty.”  
  
 _“Oh, Betty. How did your trip on the Eye go?”_  
  
“OK,” she sniffed.  
  
 _“Betty, what’s wrong?”_  
  
“Christina, Daniel’s been hurt in a fire up at Tottenham.”  
  
 _“Good grief, what were you doing up there? It’s terrible with all the rioting and looting.”_  
  
“Yes, it’s shocking actually. I need you to call Alexis for me and get her here as soon as possible.”  
  
 _“OK, where are you?”_  
  
“The Royal London.”  
  
 _“I’ll ring her now. Betty?”_  
  
“Yes?”  
  
 _“I’m sorry luvvie, I really am. You two don’t need or deserve any of this.”_  
  
“Thanks. Bye.” She shut her phone off and cried and for the whole time that she was on her own, the staff nurse kept a watchful eye. Chatting with her when she wanted to and getting her a fresh cup of tea that sat there and became cold each time.  
  
Betty had finally found a bit of peace when she physically had no more tears to cry, she tried to sleep but it evaded her, instead she just rested her eyes. “Betty?” The voice was so calm and relaxed, she thought she was finally dreaming. When a strong hand gripped her arm she knew she wasn’t, “Betty?”  
  
She opened her eyes, it was Alexis. Betty was so out of sorts that she grabbed the other woman around the neck and held her close. “It’s all my fault, Alexis.”  
  
“No, it’s not.” Alexis pulled away, “it’s no one’s fault. Not even Danny’s.” She smiled at Betty, wiping the tears away from her eyes. “You really love him, don’t you?”  
  
Betty nodded. “I can’t live without him.”  
  
“He’d be happy to hear you say that.”  
  
“If he wakes up.”  
  
“He will, he’s out of surgery now at least. Do you want to see him?”  
  
She nodded; she walked with Alexis through to the ward. They had him in his own room, a mask still over his face. “Is he sleeping?”  
  
“Still unconscious, they had to give him some pretty wicked painkillers and anaesthesia in order to do some work on his shoulder.”  
  
“What’s wrong with his shoulder?”  
  
“Have the doctors not told you anything?”  
  
She shook her head, “they obviously didn’t believe I was his girlfriend.”  
  
Alexis smiled, “that’s why you should always say you’re the fiancé.”  
  
“I didn’t want to make assumptions.”  
  
“Betty, it’s no wonder Danny loves you as much as he does. Making assumptions indeed. Did you think we’d all be angry?” Betty shrugged. Alexis took her hands into her own. “We could never be angry with the one person that’s changed him for the better. Apart from Molly, you are the only woman that has ever given him something to live for. You’ve been a remarkable influence on him and I would love nothing more than to have you as my sister.” She hugged Betty. “And you already know how mom feels about you. You’re practically family already.”  
  
“Thank you Alexis.”  
  
“Now, come and sit down,” they walked to the seat by Daniel’s bed. Alexis allowed Betty to sit in the chair whilst she perched on the arm. “Danny was found at the bottom of the stairs. Thankfully he had a blanket wrapped around his head so there was little smoke inhalation. He’ll have a croaky voice for a few days but that will soon pass. The worst of his injuries though, was caused by some burning wood that had fallen onto his left shoulder. The burn is pretty bad as the flame penetrated through the blanket; they even had to cut out some of the burnt fibres. Its second degree at its worst so they’ll be able to graft, but my guess is he’ll have to stop modelling swimwear and boxers,” she joked. Betty sniggered. “That’s better; it’s so good to hear that laugh again Betty. I’ve missed you.”  
  
“Alexis, you hardly know me.”  
  
“That’s not strictly true; what with mom and Daniel going on about you constantly I could tell that you touched their hearts. And you were so kind to me when dad died. It’s no wonder people fall in love with you Betty.”  
  
She noticed the faraway look in Betty’s eyes as Betty took in Daniel’s sleeping form in front of her.  
  
“I’ll leave you to it; I don’t think there’s much point in my trying to get you to go home, so I won’t. But be warned mom’s going to be here tomorrow and she will.”  
  
Betty smiled up at Alexis, taking hold of her hand. “Thanks.”  
  
Alexis put her hand on Betty’s shoulder. “Anytime. Just call me when he wakes up, Philippe and I will be out in the guest room.” She walked away leaving Betty alone with Daniel.  
  
Betty pulled the chair closer to him, the wooden legs binding and screeching against the tiles but the job was soon done and she was able to take Daniel’s hand. “You’re sticking around then?” She whispered to him. “That’s good.” She paused, unable to think of what to say to him, “thing is, I’d really miss you. And I’m not just talking ‘friend’ missing you, I’m talking ‘fiancé’ stroke ‘wife’ missing you. Do you get me?”  
  
She traced circles over the skin of his hand, “stop being silly Betty.” She scolded.  
  
“I don’t think that’s silly,” Daniel croaked.  
  
“Yes, it is. Wait, Daniel?”  
  
She looked up into his bloodshot eyes, one blue iris looking slightly darker than the other but that could’ve just been the way the light was shining on them, “hey.” He smiled.  
  
She got up to go and tell Alexis that he was awake but with what little strength he had in him he pulled at the hand that his still held. “Don’t go.”  
  
“Alexis wanted me to tell her when you were awake.”  
  
“Tell her in the morning, I just want it to be you and me for a bit.” She smiled, hugging his hand to her chest before leaning down and kissing his forehead. “What were you saying about missing me?”  
  
“Daniel, I love you and I’m prepared to fight for us. I don’t want to let anything else stand in our way. I’m yours, if you still want me that is?”  
  
“Shame I had to damn near kill myself to get that out of you. Of course I want you, Betty Suarez. I love you and I really can’t live without you so please stop making me try.”  
  
She laughed and he smiled. She kissed him before settling back in the chair and laying her head against his hand. She was soon asleep, and whilst she dreamed he stroked her hair. “Thanks for looking out for me and Betty, Molly.” He whispered.  
  
 _My pleasure. Keep her safe Daniel._  
  
“I will.” He said, his hand now cupping her exposed cheek and stroking the soft skin beneath his fingers. “I will.”


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11  
  
Daniel couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept so well. He had to remind himself that he was in a hospital and that the drugs he’d been given over those hours since his admittance had helped but to have Betty by his side was like coming home. Her admission that she’d actually miss him as a fiancé or wife was something he could relate to. Molly had been his world and when she’d died, he’d broken down. He couldn’t bear the thought that he could have quite easily have done the same to Betty by making one stupid, fatal mistake. But he was here, by whatever intervention and he was here for a reason, to look after and love the wonderful woman who was still asleep holding onto his hand.  
  
She stirred, opening her eyes and pushing the long tresses of hair from out of her face. “Good morning, beautiful.” Daniel croaked, attempting to whisper.  
  
Her smile was broad as she stretched out the kinks in her body. “I’ll be sorry when that raspy edge to your voice disappears. So sexy.”  
  
He raised an eyebrow, “I can always go and rescue someone else from a burning building if you’d like me to keep it?”  
  
“No. No more idiotic stunts please, just to get me to tell you how I feel about you.”  
  
“I was joking.”  
  
She sat on the edge of the bed, leaning over him, the swell of her breast grazing gently against his chest as she placed the lightest kiss on his lips. His hand played at her waist, he’d never dreamed that having her so close and breathing in her scent could be so intoxicating but she was better than any drug he could’ve been given. All thoughts of pain and discomfort were washed away as she continued her assault. She pulled back, her face still only inches away from his. “Daniel Meade, if you ever attempt anything like that again, I swear I will kill you myself.”  
  
He smirked, “much as I would love to put myself in dangerous situations so that you keep telling me you love me, I’m not going to. I’d much rather be at home with you making up for lost time than being stuck in this bed not being able to show you how I feel.” Her cheeks pinked and she looked away. He drew her back to look at him but her eyes were hooded. “Betty, look at me.” She did as she was bid, “I told you once before that I didn’t ever want you to feel embarrassed by the things I say to you.”  
  
“I’m sorry.”  
  
“Don’t be. I love you so much it hurts and I’m going to show you just how much when I’m out of this bed, in so many different ways.” Her blush grew steadily deeper in colour. “I can only imagine how many you’re actually thinking of right now.” He smirked. She gently punched him. “Hey, no hitting the patient.”  
  
“You’re obviously feeling much better if you’re making jokes as well as thinking of all the different ways you’re going to have me in your bed.”  
  
“Not just in my bed, either.” He confided, “we can make use of the sofa, the shower, the kitchen table, the bath of course.”  
  
“You haven’t thought about this much, then?” She giggled. “Once you’ve turned me into a brazen hussy then maybe we can move on from the bedroom.”  
  
His fingers stroked her cheek, “as long as I’m with you, I don’t care where we are.” He pulled her towards him, his mouth seeking hers. The kiss, although intense, was sweet and once they’d come up for air he pulled her closer to him, cradling her head against his chest, stroking her hair. “Hey, mom.”  
  
“Good morning, Daniel. Betty. I’m sorry if I’ve disturbed anything.” Her broad smile shone.  
  
Betty sat up straight, combing her fingers through her hair and checking to make sure everything was done up as it should be before she slipped off the bed. “Mrs Meade?”  
  
She walked towards Betty, her arms outstretched as she brought her into her hug. “I think you can perhaps start calling me Claire, or mom, if you’d prefer.”  
  
Betty pulled away; she looked back at Daniel who was grinning like the Cheshire Cat before returning her attention to his mother. “Thank you. Claire.”  
  
She was drawn into another hug, “I’ve missed you so much, Betty and you look stunning,” Claire paused for effect, “even if a little tired. I’m so proud of what you’ve achieved. Daniel’s been sending me copies of your magazine, to which I’m addicted and can’t wait for subscriptions to go worldwide so I can buy my own. You must be thrilled at how well circulation’s improving.”  
  
“Lindsey keeps reminding me of how well sales are going. He’s pleased with the results so I guess it means I’m doing a good job.”  
  
“You’re doing a fantastic job. I wouldn’t be surprised if you won an award at this year’s Journalist Review in December.”  
  
Betty could see that Claire was giving her that all knowing look, like the one she’d given her when she’d told Betty about her theory regarding Daniel. “You know something.”  
  
“Betty, I’m not that good. Ok, so I knew that my theory about Daniel was correct, but even I can’t predict who’s going to win. I am on the judging panel though this year.” She winked, “who could blame me for putting in a good word for you. But we’ll chat about that later.” She sat on the edge of the bed and took Daniel’s hand in her own before stroking his hair. “How is my son doing?”  
  
“I’m good mom,” he croaked, “a little smoke inhalation, hence the voice,” he shot a look at Betty who had to stifle a giggle; none of which was lost on Claire. “I’ve been badly burnt though. Debris landed on my left shoulder when I fell, it burnt through the blanket and my clothing. I think that’s what took the surgical team the longest to deal with; they had to pick bits of burnt fibre out of the wound before they could properly dress the burn. It was extremely painful.”  
  
Hearing Daniel own up to his discomfort made Betty’s heart falter, she’d never imagined that he was in pain; he looked so lucid and calm. She only hoped she hadn’t hurt him when she’d lain on his chest.  
  
“Alexis tells me they’ll be able to graft. I understand that that can be very painful too. How do you feel about them doing that here?”  
  
“Mom, they do private work in the UK too, if that’s what you’re worried about.”  
  
“Daniel, I’d be happy to have you scarred as long as you were alive. I’m sure Betty feels the same.” Claire and Daniel both turned to hear her answer.  
  
“When they told me you were unconscious and I could see that you had to have oxygen to breathe …,” She drew nearer, “I was afraid I’d lost you. Nothing could stop me loving you Daniel, not even some charred skin. As long as you’re here that’s all that matters.”  
  
“Thanks,” Daniel said, “it’s something I’ll need to think about but I’ve got a few days to make my decision. The wound needs to heal a bit first before they can even go ahead with any surgery.”  
  
“Well, we’re here for you darling. Whatever you decide to do.” Claire said. Betty merely nodded.  
  
Daniel held out his hand for Betty, and when she took it he pulled her closer. “The surgery might not even be a success, chances are the graft doesn’t work or the skin might even be too damaged to do anything with. It’s good to know that the two most important women in my life will always love me, whatever I look like.” He looked to Betty, concerned that she’d become quiet. He squeezed her hand, “you ok?”  
  
She nodded, “I’m fine, just a bit tired.”  
  
“You do look exhausted,” Claire agreed. She started delving into her purse handing over a credit card, “why don’t you go home, get some rest and come back later on this afternoon when you and I can have a chat.”  
  
“I couldn’t just leave, what if something happens and I’m not here?”  
  
“Betty, I’m not going anywhere for at least a couple of weeks. Your going home for a couple of hours isn’t going to kill me.”  
  
And that’s when she started to cry, maybe it had been because she was tired or that her emotions were just all over the place, she didn’t know why. Claire made an excuse to leave and arranged a car to take Betty home whilst Daniel calmed her down. “I’m sorry,” she wailed, sitting back on the edge of the bed before he pulled her into his arms, her tears splashing onto his chest as he gently stroked her hair.  
  
“Shh, I’m the one that should be apologising. If I hadn’t just kissed you and run off like that.”  
  
Her sniffles slowed, “what would we be doing right now, do you think?” Her fingers drawing circles over his skin.  
  
“Well, if you’d continued with the whole ‘we’re just going to stay friends’ thing and I hadn’t been able to convince you otherwise with my parting kiss, then I guess I would be back in my hotel room deciding how to get you to change your mind.”  
  
“And if you had convinced me?”  
  
“Then I guess we’d be in my hotel room making love and ordering room service.”  
  
She looked up into his face. “Be serious, Daniel.”  
  
“I am, Betty. Deadly serious.” She could see it too, in his expression, the way he looked at her, his whole persona. He wanted her, there was no denying it.  
  
And if she was going to be brutally honest. “That’s what I want to. I guess I cried because I was just so relieved to have you here and not …”  
  
“Stop thinking like that, I promise you that I will never knowingly put myself in any danger ever again. I’m not going anywhere just yet and it’s clear that other forces were making sure I got back to you too. Sadly, not in one piece.”  
  
She smiled, “nothing’s broken that can’t be fixed, Daniel.  At least your most important asset is still intact.”  
  
“And there was me thinking you wanted me for my brain.”  
  
“I think after last night’s drama I can say with some degree of certainty that you don’t have one.”  
  
He held his hands up, “ok, ok. I’m never going to hear the end of this am I?”  
  
“No.” She was shaking her head. “What do you mean ‘other forces’?”  
  
“You’re going to think I’m crazy.”  
  
“No, I’m not.”  
  
“Yes, you are.”  
  
“Please, Daniel. Just tell me already.”  
  
He stalled, not quite sure how to begin. “You remember the whole Community of the Phoenix thing?”  
  
“Where you thought you saw Molly, but it was the drugs Bennett gave you and you ended up kissing my eyebrow. How could I forget?”  
  
“Well, let’s just say I didn’t need drugs to see Molly last night.”  
  
“What?”  
  
“I think I could’ve been a lot worse off if Molly hadn’t told me to leave when she did. In fact,” he held her hands, “I might not have made it.”  
  
“If you’re trying to pull a sympathy card here, Meade?”  
  
“I’m not, I’m just telling you what happened. If I hadn’t had that vision then maybe I wouldn’t be here now.” He searched her face before kissing her, and before noticing Claire was stood at the threshold of his room. “You know you really do look very tired, go home and sleep. I’ll see you later.” He kissed her forehead and held her hands until she was safely off the bed. She held onto Claire’s arm until they reached the elevators and then she was gone.  
  
“I’ve told her to bring a weekend bag with her when she comes back,” Claire said as she returned to Daniel’s room. “She can stay with me for the time being as it’s closer than her apartment.”  
  
“Thanks mom, I’m sure Betty will really appreciate that.”  
  
“I’m thinking I might also invite Christina and Will. If Christina goes into labour then there’ll be both Betty and Alexis around to help her, whilst I look after Will. It will also give Betty a break from doing so much.”  
  
“You really love her.”  
  
“Yes, Daniel. I do. I love her because she is warm and caring and she absolutely adores you.” Claire stood by his bed smiling down at him, “You are very lucky to have found her, Daniel.”  
  
“I know.”  
  
“Do you have the ring I gave you?”  
  
“Yes, but it feels weird. I gave that ring to Molly. I don’t think I could give it to Betty too. I think she deserves something of her own.”  
  
Claire smiled, “I agree. Betty should have her own ring.” She hugged him.  
  
“I love you, mom.”  
  
“I love you too, darling.”

.oOo.

Betty, Claire, Alexis and Philippe had all taken it in turns to sit with Daniel, and once Philippe had had to go and prepare for the boat show the three women changed their routine to fit in with the series of operations that Daniel was having to attend for the grafting and to look after Christina in her final days of pregnancy.  
  
Betty had pulled the evening shift after Daniel had had to endure one of his most painful sessions ever. She sat comfortably next to him on his bed, her jacket slung over a chair, her shoes kicked off onto the floor, reading from her battered copy of ‘Jane Eyre’. Daniel listened attentively, it may not have been his book of choice but he loved how Betty took on the different characters and had become intrigued as to what would happen between the plain governess, Jane and her enigmatic boss, Mr Rochester.  
  
“Daniel, are you ok?” Betty’s question broke through his thoughts.  
  
He looked towards her, “Yes, sorry. Just zoned out for a while.” She studied his face for a considerable amount of time, attempting to ascertain what could be troubling him or even if he was in a lot of pain, before returning to the passage she was reading. His hand crept up to the book and pulled it from her grip, knowing that it would probably be one of the only ways to get her attention. “Betty?”  
  
“Hmm?”  
  
“You love this book, right?”  
  
“Yes, it’s the way Rochester and Jane fall in love, you know, by the road less travelled; they’re both fascinated by the other. Not to mention the way that he finally draws her confession out of her so that he knows she’s in love with him before he tells her he loves her too.”  
  
“They’re a bit like us.”  
  
“Do you think?”  
  
“Well, you’re Jane, the innocent young woman who falls in love with her boss, who is obviously me!”  
  
“Who happens to be a bit of a Georgian player, yeah I get it.”  
  
“Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it.”  
  
“Ok, I may have dreamt about it a couple of times, I could definitely see you as Rochester, although I don’t think you’d be as callous as him when it came to wanting to marry me even though your mad lunatic of a wife was locked up in the tower in Thornfield.”  
  
“Who knows?” He grinned. “But what about St John, who does he remind you of?”  
  
“Oh, I always imagined St John to be Matt.”  
  
Daniel laughed. “You have got to be kidding me?”  
  
“No. Why? St John wants to become a missionary but won’t do that without taking a wife, so he asks Jane but Jane won’t marry for anything less than love. A bit like Matt and me never being in the same place. As well as Matt not really knowing what he wants, don’t you think?”  
  
“Ok. What about Mrs Fairfax?”  
  
“Oh, that’s Christina.”  
  
“That makes perfect sense, although I hope she’ll see me in a different light soon enough.  How is she, by the way?”  
  
“She’s doing ok, just wants to get it over with I think. She’s just hoping that the baby will come of its own accord before her due date. I don’t think she’s particularly looking forward to the birth if the doctors decide to induce the labour. I can’t say I’d be too happy either.” Betty moved her hand absently over her stomach as if in consideration of what she imagined Christina must’ve been feeling.  
  
Daniel curved his hand over Betty’s; she glanced over catching his eye and smiling. Was she thinking about having a family of her own and with him? “It will be our worry one day I suppose.” She remarked, taking his hand and kissing it.  
  
 _I hope so._ “And how is your relationship with her now?”  
  
“Much better once I’d confronted her about the whole London Eye thing. In fact, she and Alexis confessed to everything. They’d even set up an operation, the BDTF.”  
  
“Oh my God, that is so Alexis. Let me guess, Betty and Daniel Together Forever?”  
  
Betty nodded, “yep. We’ve been well and truly had.”  
  
“But it was a good kind of ‘had’?” He asked.  
  
“The best.”  She let him put his arm around her shoulders and kiss her forehead before snuggling into his shoulder.  
  
He smiled; this was what it was all about. “So how long had you been picturing us as Rochester and Jane in your head?”  
  
“Oh, I don’t know. Since I had my braces off, I suppose. You were so kind to me, holding up that stupid bra whilst Dr Frankel was cutting off the metal, and afterward when you said that I looked great.”  
  
His mouth dropped open, “so, in fact, you’ve been thinking about us a lot longer than I have.”  
  
“Oh my God, you’re right.” She covered her face with her hands.  
  
Daniel pulled her hands away from her face. “And do these little fantasies ever get a bit steamy?”  
  
Betty was mortified. “Yes, sometimes.”  
  
“Sounds like we’ve got a bit of role playing to look forward to. Anything else you’d like to share?” She shook her head. “Are you sure because it seems like I’ll find out one way or another?” He teased.  
  
She looked away for a moment before turning back and looking him straight in the eye, modesty be damned. “Well, I’ve often wondered about food.”  
  
“Food?”  
  
“Yeah, Henry and I tried to spice things up a little one night with some ice cream and toppings and well it didn’t go too well.”  
  
“Never use Henry and ice cream in the same sentence ever again.” He joked. “Seriously, Betty?”  
  
She shrugged. “It’s a sensation thing, I guess?”  
  
“Yes, if done correctly. This is what I was saying before about meeting in the middle, although it already sounds like you’re up for a bit of adventure.”  
  
She bit her lip, “is that good?”  
  
He managed to move her so that she was lying against his chest encased in his arms, her head resting against his shoulder. “That’s great,” his grin was wolfish. He watched her swallow. “I can’t wait to get you out of here.” He closed the distance and kissed her hungrily.  
  
Betty’s phone suddenly sprang into life. “I hope that’s not Matt,” Daniel deadpanned.  
  
“No, it’s a text from Alexis. Christina’s contractions are starting to come close together. I have to go.” She swung her legs off the bed and slipped her feet into her shoes before turning back and kissing him hard. Daniel laughed as she went running from the room before having to complete a one eighty and run back in to pick up her jacket. “You better be quicker than this when I’m pregnant.” She mumbled as she ran back out.  
  
Daniel was still sniggering as he picked up Betty’s book and began to read. He really had to find out what happened at the end.

.oOo.

By the time Betty got back to the maternity ward, Christina and Alexis were already in the delivery room. “It was just all so quick,” Claire commented as Betty took a seat next to her.  
  
“Where’s Will?”  
  
“Christina’s mother has him.” Claire took Betty’s hand, “how’s Daniel this evening?”  
  
“Considering what he’s been through today, he’s been great tonight.” Betty’s face was slightly pink; she certainly wasn’t going to tell Claire about how her conversation had gone with Daniel, a mother didn’t need to hear those things she figured.  
  
Claire smirked, “Betty, I was young and in love once upon a time. I can’t profess to know everything that my son has got up to with other women but I have a good idea.”  
  
“You think that Daniel and I? I’d never, not in a hospital.” She whispered, “we haven’t got much past first base.”  
  
“Good, because you two have all the time in the world. I’d hate to see you rush into things.”  
  
Betty smiled. This was about more than just her and Daniel sleeping together, this was about expectation. Claire expected there to be a relationship, a wedding and a family. But what she was really saying was that there was still scope for trouble and heartache if they didn’t tread carefully. What could possibly go wrong for them now?  
  
“When I met Bradford, I fell in love with him immediately. The whole courtship didn’t take long and I was soon married to him with Alexis on the way. I sometimes wonder what our lives would’ve been like if I hadn’t caved into his charms so easily.”  
  
Betty took in Claire’s sad profile. “Do you wish things could’ve been different? Perhaps with Cal?”  
  
“No, Betty, I do wish that Tyler wasn’t Cal’s. However, that is a cross I have to bear. In truth he should’ve been Bradford’s and would’ve been had I not been such a lush and Bradford more of a saint.”  
  
“Claire, things happen for a reason.”  
  
Claire looked Betty in the eye, “yes, they do. And I’m so happy for you and Daniel, but Daniel is very beguiling, like his father was. I don’t want to see you make the same mistakes I did. Married within six months, my first child within a year. I had nothing for myself, Betty, it was all for Bradford and the children.”  
  
“I’m confused, you don’t want me and Daniel to get married and have your grandchildren?”  
  
Claire sighed, “No, of course not Betty. I would love for you to become my daughter in law tomorrow if you could make it happen. What I don’t want is for you to landslide into a life that you’re not completely happy with. It has taken you two well over a year to start a relationship that has been bobbing along for a long time. I get the impression that now you and Daniel have finally realised how much in love you are that it won’t be very long before Daniel manages to charm you into his bed. You’re still very young Betty in comparison to Daniel. He would start a family with you tomorrow if he got the chance, but you’re just beginning to make something of your career and I’d hate for you to lose that because you were having my grandchildren. All I ask is that you take some time to think about what you really want out of life before you jump feet first into a marriage and family with Daniel.”  
  
It made sense, Betty considered. It was like her pregnancy scare with Matt all over again. How could she give up what she had worked so hard to create? She’d built up her own magazine in a city that she loved and maybe she’d even win editor of the year, if she was lucky. Would Daniel really ask her to give it all up for him? Of that she had no doubt. He’d built up his own new career, he’d invested in a family home that he’d created entirely for them to live, work and grow in, in an environment that already had all the amenities that they could ever need. It was totally overwhelming. “I’ll think about it, take my time.” She said to Claire.  
  
Claire nodded, “I know that you’ll make the right choices and even if Daniel doesn’t agree with them initially he’ll come around. He has before.”  
  
And that’s what Betty was most afraid of, Daniel. How would he see things from her perspective when everything he’d already done had been for her, could she ask him to do anymore? Give up Salcombe, move his work to London? Would he even be prepared to do what she asked of him? She had to speak to him; she had to see if they could at least compromise. She got up from her seat and started for the exit, stopping just by Claire’s chair. “I need to go and speak with Daniel.”  
  
Claire nodded, “yes.”  
  
“Christina appears to be coping with Alexis’ help; I don’t think I could do any better. Please just apologise for me and tell Christina I’ll be back as soon as I can.”  
  
“Of course.” She smiled, “Betty? He will see it from your side eventually.”  
  
Betty nodded, unsure if she could feel the same way as Claire but hoping that Claire was indeed right again this time.  
  
She took her time strolling through the corridors back to Daniel’s ward contemplating what she was going to say as an opener and how it would all pan out. In each new scenario it all ended the same way. Daniel turning his back on her and hoping to never see her again. But she had to do this, she had to find out what Daniel had in mind for them and if she could make him understand what she needed, at least for the next few years of her life, then she’d do it.  
  
When she arrived back at his room, she caught him dozing, her book in his lap, his thumb keeping the page open where he had last read. Gently, she extracted the book from his grasp and checked out what he had been reading.  _Reader, I married him._  That was all she needed.  
  
“Hey,” his voice was groggy with sleep.  
  
“Hey,” she said. “I didn’t mean to disturb you.”  
  
“It’s ok. Has Christina had the baby yet?”  
  
“Not yet.”  
  
“Then what are you doing here,” he smiled. “Not that I mind, but I thought Christina wanted you to be her birthing partner?”  
  
“Honestly? She’s better off with Alexis. They’ve been really bonding over this baby. Maybe it’s because Alexis can’t have a child. I don’t know. Anyway, whatever it is, Christina is in the best place and in the best hands.”  
  
“Are you ok, Betty? You seem kind of down.” He held his hand out for her to take but she couldn’t, not yet.  
  
“Daniel, before we go any further there’s something I have to know.”  
  
“Ok, what is it?”  
  
“How do you see our lives panning out?”  
  
His eyebrows furrowed, “if you mean, do I see us married with children then yes. Yes, I do. It’s what I wanted when I followed you here and it’s what I want now.”  
  
“Ok. Do you have any fixed ideas about how we’re going to do this, when, where even?”  
  
“Well, I was hoping for a quick engagement, married before the years out perhaps. Children when they turned up. I mean neither of is getting any younger, I’ll be forty next year and you’ll soon be thirty.”  
  
“And where do you see us living?”  
  
“In Devon, of course. I had the cottage arranged especially for us.”  
  
She closed her eyes, “and do you see any room for movement on this? Like spending some of our time here or my commuting here for work?”  
  
“Why would you want to? I can provide you with everything you’ll ever need?”  
  
“Not quite, Daniel. What about my job? My career? My magazine?”  
  
“Do you think you’ll have the time when the first baby comes along? All kudos to you Betty if you think you can?”  
  
“Well, I would like to think that I could at least carry on in some kind of capacity but I’d rather just put the baby making on hiatus for the moment until I’m really ready for that part of my life to change.”  
  
“We can’t wait too long; I’m going to be an old dad as it is.”  
  
“I knew it,” she blew, “this is and has always been about you Daniel, about how things will affect you, how people well perceive you. Who cares if you’re an older father? Who cares how much money you have? I don’t.”  
  
“Well, I do. I’m now in a position where I can truly provide for my family, Betty. I want children whilst I can still run around with them and enjoy them. I thought you understood that.”  
  
She sat down in the chair, “I do. But I also have to have something for me, I want my career and my magazine like I’ve always dreamed of. And I want to be able to carry on with it too. I don’t want to have to give it up to provide you with a wife and mother for your children because you can’t compromise on any part of your dream.”  
  
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t compromise. What do you want?”  
  
“To live in London where my work is, at least for the time being.”  
  
“I have work too, but it’s in Devon.”  
  
“Couldn’t you work form London as well? I know the boatyard’s down there and soon Philippe, Jay and Alexis will all have a hand in running it. You could work from here at least for part of the week?”  
  
“I don’t know Betty. I don’t really want to move back into the rat race if I can help it.”  
  
“Then we’ll find somewhere between the two, I’ll commute up here. Then at the weekends we can go to Devon.”  
  
“And how long do you think we could keep that up for?”  
  
“People do it all of the time?”  
  
“I don’t think I could, I’m sorry.”  
  
“You won’t even try?”  
  
He shook his head; his smile had faded into a grim line. “No.”  
  
“I thought you loved me?” She cried.  
  
“I do.” He growled out, “very much. And what about you? You returned the favour?”  
  
“I guess I was blinded by your charm.” She retorted sarcastically, before picking up her jacket. “Goodnight Daniel.”  
  
“Betty, don’t go. We can work this out.”  
  
“Can we?” She snapped, “how? You won’t compromise. I just need something for myself first before I throw my life into becoming what you want me to be and you can’t even give me that. Well fine. I’ll see you in three or four years. Perhaps by then we’ll both finally be able to meet in the middle.”  
  
“Betty?” He called out but her retreating figure wouldn’t slow down or stop. He’d really messed it up this time. “Betty, please?”  
  
As soon as she’d got into the elevator and the door had closed she let go of her emotions, her eyes flooding with tears and her aching heart causing her to cry out in pain. Had she made the right choice? Was Claire right that Daniel would eventually come around? Whatever happened now it was all in the lap of the Gods and she was merely a servant to their end game. She only hoped that they would be able to sort out this sorry mess, once and for all.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12  
  
On the sixteenth of August two thousand and eleven, at two thirteen in the morning, Christina McKinney gave birth to her daughter Louisa May. Both Alexis and Claire were very excited by the new arrival, with her denim blue eyes and very fine blonde hair, that they sat up with Christina and the baby until both mother and child were fast asleep. And although Christina was very grateful to the Meade women; the one person that she really wanted to share her joy with the most, and that couldn’t be found, was Betty.  
  
Claire tried Betty’s cell again and again. “I’m worried about her. Where on earth could she be?”  
  
Even when both Claire and Alexis arrived back at the apartment they couldn’t find her or any of her belongings. “She’s left her key,” Alexis called from the living room. “There’s a note too.”  
  
Claire rushed through the property, “what does she say?”  
  
“For us not to worry about her, she doesn’t feel comfortable staying here any longer so she’s gone home. She’ll continue to take turns with Christina and the baby but she wants to make sure that she doesn’t see us.” Alexis handed the note over to Claire, who read through the words several times. “What the hell is going on?”  
  
“She’s not repeating my mistakes,” Claire muttered, grabbing her phone and typing out the first of many text messages to Betty.  
  
“What do you mean? Mom, what did you say to her?”  
  
“I just told her that she needed to work out what she wanted and find out if that matched with Daniel’s expectations, before she got in far too deep with him and ended up regretting any decisions she’d made which may not have been entirely her own.”  
  
Alexis’ mouth fell open. “So what was the point of Christina and I trying to get those two lovesick puppies together if you were always going to give her the big ‘you have to have something for yourself’ speech?”  
  
Claire rounded on Alexis, “she is like a daughter to me. Alexis. I couldn’t let her go on thinking everything was going to be peachy, if it ended up like you father and me. And then who would respect who? I don’t expect you to understand. Neither you nor your brother will ever know what it’s like to be the wife of a Meade. You’re all so very charming.”  
  
“Mom, I may not have a uterus but …”  
  
Claire cur her off. “Alexis, darling. I’m sorry to have to point this out to you but until you are ever in the fortunate position to carry your own child into this world, which you have nurtured in your womb for nine months, then you will never comprehend what it means to be a woman. Betty isn’t yet ready to give up her dreams in order to fulfil her partner’s desires and Daniel has been desperate to start a family since DJ arrived on the scene.”  
  
“But why would Betty just run off like that?”  
  
“I don’t know.” Claire shook her head. “She must be so confused, the poor child, but until we’ve spoken to Daniel and hopefully Betty, we can’t help to resolve anything. I just hope that this is all some big misunderstanding due to a lack of compromise.”  
  
“I’m betting neither one of them was prepared to budge even an inch, knowing how stubborn they both are.”  
  
“That’s what I’m afraid of and I warned Betty that Daniel would probably react in this way. At least at first. He will understand eventually that if he doesn’t want to lose her completely then he will have to mollify her at some point. It’s Betty that I’m concerned about. We need to talk to them.”

.oOo.

Daniel was in a black mood. It had been several days since his confrontation with Betty, and what with the increasingly painful surgery that he had to undertake, he felt grim. Even her book brought him no peace. The similarities in the relationship between Jane and Rochester kept coming to bite him on the butt.  
  
“Hey.” Alexis called from the door, before walking up to the bed with Louisa May in her arms. “Would you like to meet the newest addition to the McKinney household?”  
  
 _Not particularly._  Daniel shook his head, but Alexis was having none of it. She handed the baby girl over to Daniel who could do nothing but take hold of her and cuddle the infant. “She’s got Christina’s eyes.”  
  
“Is there something you need to tell me, because I can’t say I ever got that close to notice?” She sat on the edge of the bed.  
  
Daniel shot her warning look, “no.” The baby yawned and he couldn’t help but smile, “why do you have Christina’s baby? You haven’t kidnapped her have you?” He added, only half joking.  
  
“Do you think I’d be sat here on the other side of the hospital from the maternity wing if I was kidnapping this little urchin?” She studied her brother’s protection of the little mite in his arms. “You’re really good with her.”  
  
“She’s a baby; you can’t really go wrong can you?” He whispered angrily, “if she starts screaming then we’ll see how good I am.”  
  
“Yeah, well good luck with that. Mom seems to be the only one that can calm her down, although Christina did say that Betty was great with her too.”  
  
At the mere mention of her name he closed his eyes, attempting to block out the pain. “That’s good. How is she?”  
  
“Mom and I don’t know. She cleaned her stuff out of mom’s apartment and hasn’t contacted us since. She’ll go and see Christina but only when she knows we won’t be around. Daniel, what happened?”  
  
He shifted slightly to make himself more comfortable, the baby now nestling against his shoulder as he lay back. “I don’t know.” He was so quiet; Alexis had to strain to hear him, “it all happened so quickly.”  
  
“Can you remember what was said?”  
  
“She wanted to know how I saw our relationship developing. I told her that I wanted a quick engagement, to be married before the end of the year and to start a family as soon as we were able to because, well, we’re not exactly spring chickens are we?.”  
  
Alexis closed her eyes and shook her head. “Oh my God, Daniel?”  
  
“What?”  
  
“What else was said?”  
  
“I said that I wanted us to live in Salcombe as that’s what I’d planned for. She starts saying that she’s not ready to settle down into that kind of lifestyle and can’t we just live in London for a bit or commute from the burbs for part of the week and go to Devon at the weekend.”  
  
“And you told her ‘no’?”  
  
“I told her that she would never want for anything.”  
  
“That amounts to the same thing. What made you fall in love with her Daniel in the first place? I’m sure it wasn’t the fact that all she was after was a ring on her finger and broods of children around her feet. This is exactly the reason why she ended up leaving New York in the way that she did. I mean, I know that your intentions are sincere but she’s a city girl who still wants to live that part of her life until she feels like she has accomplished something and basically gets it out of her system. I know that what you said never meant to hurt her but she probably feels smothered, the poor girl.”  
  
“I just want to provide for her. I want her to be happy.”  
  
“She was brought up very differently from you and I. We were privileged. Her father had to do what he could after her mother died, and then until Betty and her sister were old enough to help out. And it can’t have been much fun when Hilda had Justin either at sixteen. It’s no wonder she went after a career, what other options did she have apart from marrying some sap and producing offspring or make something of herself. She was born with a brain Daniel, she needs to use it.”  
  
“She is good at what she does.”  
  
“And you wanted to take that away from her.”  
  
“No, Alexis, I didn’t. She followed her dream and made it a reality. I couldn’t take that away from her. But I don’t want to see her end up like Wilhelmina either! My God, if there’s one thing I have learned from her it’s that you can achieve anything when you put your mind to it.”  
  
“Look at you and Wayfarer.”  
  
“Absolutely, I just thought that maybe we were doing ok and that she might just want to step back a bit, especially after staying in the cottage. You know, let me take the reins for a while. I got that wrong though, didn’t I? We’re nowhere close to being on the same page.”  
  
“Have you tried telling her this?”  
  
“Yep, I’ve rung and texted her. Sent an email yesterday. But nothing, she stays silent.”  
  
“I’m so sorry, Daniel.”  
  
He passed the sleeping infant back to Alexis, “its ok, Alexis. If it’s meant to be then it’s meant to be. I can’t do any more than I already am.” Alexis’ heart broke for her brother, the pained expression on his face made him look ten years older. “I just have to get on with my life and if Betty gets back to me then it’s a bonus.”  
  
Alexis got up from her seat, “I think I’d best return Louisa before Christina sends out a search party. You going to be ok?”  
  
He nodded, “yeah. Tell Christina she has a beautiful daughter and that I’m very envious. I’ll come and see her when I’m able to.”  
  
“Ok, I’ll let her know.”  
  
He watched her go before he shut his eyes and let the tears flow. He was a wreck. And there was only one thing he could do to get his life back on track. Start over.

.oOo.

Claire’s hair whipped around her face as she stood at the entrance to the Somerset House terrace, knowing full well that this would be the only exit Betty would be able to use once she’d picked up Louisa from Christina. A kindly looking man of around Bradford’s age stood opposite her and caught her eye, she smiled. He returned it.  _Maybe in another lifetime._  
  
She turned at the sound of wheels trundling over the gravel, and saw Betty visibly pale as she drew nearer with Louisa’s pram. “Betty!” she enthused.  
  
“Mrs Meade? What are you doing here?”  
  
“It is fashion week, and I do own a fashion magazine.” She smiled warmly, “Alexis has my ticket to watch Christina’s show, and much as I’d like to join her I couldn’t bear to sit next to Wilhelmina for an hour, making nice.” She softened her stance. “Especially when there was something more important to do.”  
  
“Uh … which is?”  
  
“Catch up with you. I’m staying at the Waldorf,” that should’ve been enough information for the man she’d smiled at to find her should he wish to. “Come and take afternoon tea with me.”  
  
They strolled through Aldwych in amiable silence. In all fairness to Betty, Claire felt like she had put the fear of God into the younger woman, perhaps feeling that Claire was going to suddenly produce her son with any repercussions that may have ensued. But she seemed to physically relax when the Maître D’ found them a table for two out of the way so that the sleeping Louisa wouldn’t be disturbed too much. “She is such a sweet child,” Claire remarked.  
  
Betty smiled, “she’s great, always so happy. And quiet too, she hardly ever cries.”  
  
“How is everything going at work?” Claire asked as soon as they were settled and their choice of tea ordered.  
  
A large sandwich platter was placed between their plates and Claire waited for Betty to make her choice. “It’s going very well, actually. Sales are increasing far beyond budget and I finally feel like I know where I’m taking my publication. It has its face now and fits into its marketplace, we don’t need to tweeze it anymore.”  
  
“That’s wonderful news. And how about overseas subscriptions?”  
  
“They’re planning to trial in the US and Canada next spring, with worldwide coverage from next fall.”  
  
“Marvellous. I may have to seriously think about poaching you back.” Claire took a bite from a beef and horseradish sandwich. “This is divine.”  
  
“Mmm, this cream cheese and cucumber one is delicious. I don’t know what bread they’ve used but it’s very tasty.” Claire smiled.  
  
“How’s everything else going? Friends? Christina and the baby? Is there a boyfriend?”  
  
Betty hung her head, “Friends are work colleagues and I don’t really go out with them much socially, and now that I’m house sharing with Christina and help with the kids then I don’t have much time for any other kind of socialising either.”  
  
“That’s a shame, Betty.” Claire sensed something wasn’t quite right. “Are you not enjoying life in London?”  
  
“I love London; I just don’t seem to make any friends. Nothing that lasts anyway. So I throw myself into work and help out Christina a lot of the time. She’s been so busy get things ready for today that she’s really needed someone to help shoulder the responsibility.”  
  
“You’re a really good friend, Betty.”  
  
Betty shook her head. “No, I’m not.” Tears stung at her eyelids but she refused to let them drop. “I ran off without any explanation and I messed up several things that were very important to me. One I’ve rectified. The second, well, I apologise for the way I ran out and I’m sorry that I haven’t spoken to you since …” A tear rolled over her pallid skin.  
  
Claire’s hand reached across the table and took Betty’s in it. “Betty, there is no need to apologise. If anyone should then it’s me. Filling you head with my own inadequacies and be damned with the consequences. Yes, I wanted you to understand what it was you would be doing by allowing Daniel to become a part of your life but I never imagined that it would lead to so much heartache and loneliness, and for that I am truly sorry.”  
  
“I think I just miss my family and home.” Betty wiped her cheek with her free hand before taking a long drink of her tea. “How is Daniel?”  
  
“Much the same as you, throwing himself into his work. Jetting off around the globe selling those damned yachts on the back of the success with London Transport and gearing up for the Boat Show next week. He hasn’t stopped since he got out of hospital. If he doesn’t slow down soon, I’m afraid he’s going to blow a gasket.”  
  
“How did the grafting go?”  
  
“It was extremely painful for him but they believe that it was a success. Not that he’d tell me if it wasn’t.”  
  
The cakes arrived, all in miniature, but Betty noticed they had scones and dove straight in. She smeared the cream on the scone before spooning on some of the jam on top as in the Devonshire tradition.  
  
She offered the other half to Claire, who looked at it with some apprehension before deciding to try it, “hell, why not. You only live once.” She bit into the scone, savouring the taste of the cream and the jam, “oh, that’s good.”  
  
“Yes, we’re eating them like the Devonian’s do.”  
  
“Do you miss Salcombe?”  
  
“A little,” she answered without hesitation. “I made some good friends whilst I was there.”  
  
“Unlike here?”  
  
She nodded, “yes, it’s so different. I’d like to say it could be measured between a New Yorker and someone from Jersey but it’s not. It’s so much more than that.”  
  
“Daniel used to tell me that if the locals were anymore horizontal then they’d be lying down.”  
  
Betty laughed, “he’s not wrong.”  
  
“Do you miss him?” Claire studied Betty’s face, she was panicked, scared even. “Don’t worry; my son and I are not talking.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“Because I intervened and messed up, what was it he said?” She thought for a second, “oh yes, that I messed up ‘the best thing that had ever happened to him.’”  
  
Betty said nothing for what seemed like several minutes before answering. “Yes, I miss him so much.”  
  
“Oh dear God, I’m sorry Betty.”  
  
“It wasn’t your fault. I needed to know what he had planned out for us; I just didn’t expect him to be so obtuse. He knew about my dreams but he still expected me to give them up to play the wife and mother.”  
  
“Actually, that’s not quite true.”  
  
“That’s what he told me.”  
  
“Well, we both know he’s not always succinct with his meaning. Betty, he doesn’t want you to give up anything you don’t want to. I just think that in his eagerness to tell you how he felt about you and what he wanted for you both he forgot the most vital part. The biggest reason for him falling for you in the first place was because of your passion and drive for the things and the people that you love and care about. He doesn’t want that to change because if that changes, so do you. But he also doesn’t want you slaving away over something that keeps you from your family, in whatever form that is, he just wants to be a part of it. He also doesn’t want you becoming like Wilhelmina, sad and lonely.”  
  
“If you haven’t spoken, then how do you know all of this?” Betty smirked.  
  
“He told Alexis. Thankfully Alexis and I are still talking.”  
  
“That’s good then.” Betty sniggered. “I’ve missed you, Claire.”  
  
“Oh, it’s good to hear I’m not Mrs Meade anymore. I’ve missed you too, Betty.” Claire brushed away a tear. “Do you think that you and Daniel can talk?”  
  
“I suppose, if he can learn to compromise.”  
  
Claire squeezed Betty’s hand. “Don’t forget though, Betty. Compromise is a two way street. It shouldn’t just be one or the other of you that co-operates. It has to be both of you.”  
  
Betty sat perplexed, could she have been so unswaying herself too. As she remembered their conversation she could all too plainly see that she had indeed been as bad as Daniel had.  
  
The Maître D’ stood by the table awaiting an appropriate time to address Claire. He passed her a small cream envelope which she opened immediately. The letter was folded several times and a business card fell out onto the table in front of her as she opened the paper. She smiled to herself as she read the rich, flowing handwriting in the note. Maybe Betty wasn’t the only one that could salvage something out of her life.  
  
Claire picked up her bag and placed the notelet inside her diary. “You know, I believe Alexis was right when she said you two were as stubborn as one another. But I think you should both be able to cope really well with the situation when you finally get around to talking again. Especially once you’ve seen this.” Claire pulled a copy of Mode out of her bag.  
  
“What’s this?” Betty asked.  
  
“It’s Daniel’s last Mode as Editor In Chief. I understand that you never read his letter.” Betty shook her head, “maybe this will help your comprehension of where Daniel is coming from.”  
  
“Thank you.” Betty said, taking the magazine and flipping through the pages. It had been so long since she’d held one of them in her hands it felt alien.  
  
“No, thank you Betty. I hope that the next time we meet it will be under better circumstances.”  
  
“Yes, I hope so too, Claire.”

  
.oOo.

  
September soon turned into October and October into November. The crisp dark mornings gradually became colder as the frost began to taint anything in its wake with its fine white crystals. If the sun shone, its rays were weak and their usually warming effect wasn’t enough to take the chill out of the air.  
  
Betty had just finished work and stepped out onto the pavement in front of her offices wondering what she should do. The pavement was thick with people, people on their way home and partygoers on a night out. It was extremely busy for a weeknight but she couldn’t quite work out what was going on, stepping back into the safety of the main door alcove she checked her diary. November fifth, did that have any significance?  
  
“Betty?” A male voice enquired.  
  
She looked up from her phone, her mouth dropping open. “Gio?” She rushed into his waiting arms. “How are you?”  
  
“I’m great thanks. In fact, I’ve just been meeting with the money men. Seems the UK can’t get enough of my sandwiches and they want a piece of me throughout the country.”  
  
“Was this part of your five year plan?”  
  
“Not quite, but it sure beats the hell out of what I was doing when you dropped me.”  
  
She swatted his arm playfully before blushing. “How’s you fiancé?”  
  
“Hey, she’s my wife now. I’m on my way to meet her, come and join us?”  
  
“I couldn’t, I … er …”  
  
“You have other plans for bonfire night, that’s cool. Daniel taking you somewhere nice?”  
  
“Daniel?”  
  
“Yeah, I heard this rumour that you and he had hooked up.” Her bright smile faded. “Oh Jeez, I’m sorry. I knew he’d left Mode, even read his last letter. I kind of hoped that you’d finally got it together with the only man for you.”  
  
Betty stopped walking, “you knew?”  
  
“Come on B, I’m not stupid.” She was knocked into him by several passers-by. “Hey, watch what you’re doing.” Gio shouted at them before taking her into his arms. He could feel her body convulsing gently, “its ok, B. Just let it all out.” So she did, the floodgates opened and she cried. He handed her his handkerchief while she calmed herself down. “You know, I don’t know what went on with you two but I guess you’ve got some unresolved issues.”  
  
As they walked down towards the river and past Westminster, Betty explained everything that had happened. Gio suddenly stopped. Betty turned to face him. “What?”  
  
“When are you going to stop living in Betty Suarez land?”  
  
“I don’t know what you mean?”  
  
“B, your job. Your career. It isn’t the be all and end all of your life.”  
  
“It’s the only thing I’m any good at.”  
  
“It’s not actually.” He smirked, “you’re also pretty good at making the most unlikely men fall for you.”  
  
“Gio?”  
  
“Listen to me. When I met Jennie, I was all about the food, man. But when we got it together and worked out how passionate we were about each other let alone our work, it was magical. I had no hesitation of wanting to make that woman my wife and to have a family with her. Yes, we’ve had problems we’ve had to overcome; we’re even going through a really big change at the moment. We’re pregnant and we’re so confused about where we need to live right now that it’s becoming impossible to make any decisions about anything else. We’ve got to wait for the powers that be to make their minds up about us before we can take the next step, but Jenn is so close to her due date that at this rate they’ll be no family home for us to be settled into before the baby arrives.  
  
“What I’m saying is, there are going to be times in your life B when it doesn’t go to plan and you need to be able to learn to cope when that happens. I love my wife and would we have gotten pregnant had we known we were going to have these issues now? Hell, yeah! I wouldn’t change a thing.”  
  
“How are you going to cope when the baby arrives?”  
  
“We’ll manage. She’s taught me how to make her wonderful bread, and we’ve passed that knowledge onto our new team of bakers. When junior arrives we’ll handle the rest of the business between us taking turns holding onto the baby. Even now we’re drawing up rotas for the shifts including covering the nightly feeds. Nothing is impossible.”  
  
 _I’m an attractive, intelligent, confident businesswoman._  She thought, but didn’t quite feel it. Could she dare to hope that she could have everything after all? “Gio, are you saying that there’s no reason for me to alter my dream even to get everything else that I want?”  
  
“Exactly B. Ok, so sometimes your priorities will change but essentially you can have anything you want. So if your dream is to be the first female US President go for it, but remember it’s the people around you that make you who you are and that doesn’t mean you have to leave out the husband and children in order to get there. In fact, that kind of support will probably be more beneficial in the long run. When you have no-one you trust around you what stops you turning into Wilhelmina?”  
  
Well that struck a chord. That was the prospect that had always frightened her more than any other. The last thing she wanted was that. By the time they got to the gates at Battersea Park for the Guy Fawkes celebrations, Gio was enthusing about Jennie’s attributes and how he hoped junior would take after her and not him, “unless it’s a boy and he wants to play baseball.”  
  
Betty laughed, “you should know Gio, they don’t play much baseball in the UK.”  
  
“I know but that’s just a small obstacle.” She got it. Nothing was too big a problem that it couldn’t be solved. She really had a lot of apologising to do. “B, this is Jennie Rossi, my wife. Jenn, this is Betty Suarez.”  
  
“So you’re Betty. You really broke his heart you know.”  
  
Betty took in the other woman, she was absolutely glowing and not just with her pregnancy but by the way Gio obviously lit up her life.  _You had that with Daniel._  Jennie was a little taller than Betty and very curvy, her auburn hair was piled on top of her head and she wore black rimmed glasses that perched on the end of her nose. “Hi Jennie. I’m just so glad he managed to find someone that could put it back together and make him happier than I’ve ever seen him.”

.oOo.

Betty had been tracking Daniel’s progress as best she could; Wayfarer had gone from strength to strength, now a force to be reckoned with amongst the boat builders of the world. He had been seen at this boat show, at that social event, a conversation had been captured on a blog here, on a news site there. Hell, he was even being tweeted about and it had nothing to do with models or actresses. Everything was business.  
  
She picked up the tattered copy of Mode that Claire had left with her in September and read over her favourite parts of his letter.  _‘Or perhaps that friend was undergoing her own life change, one in which she would no longer be present in your life, compelling you to make your own change to keep her in it, even if it were in a new context … Maybe you realized you were no longer interested in maintaining your status quo … Or maybe one day something just changed inside you in the way you saw that good friend, causing you to want her to be more than, well, just a friend … When that unusual synergy occurs, love is often the result. And take it from me: Love is the one attitude that never goes out of fashion.’_  
  
 _And of all this I could’ve been mistress_ , she thought to herself as an image of her as Lizzie Bennett and Daniel as Mr Darcy appeared in her head.  
  
“Oh, no. I’ve seen that faraway look before. I’m not Mrs bloody Fairfax again, am I?”  
  
Betty smiled, “not this time.”  
  
“Phew!” Christina scanned the desk. “You’re supposed to be working.”  
  
“I’m researching,” her cheeks coloured.  
  
“Betty, you can’t keep pandering after him like this. You made your choice. Let him be; let him find someone more suited to his own choices.” Her smile was kind and Betty couldn’t help but return it, even if she wasn’t really feeling it. “Besides, I want you to come and give me your opinion on something and I’m hoping it will not only cheer you up but give you something to look forward to as well.” She held out her hand for Betty to take.  
  
“What is it? Have you finished the spring summer thirteen collection?”  
  
“Och, don’t even go there,” Christina cried, “I can’t even think straight on that one yet. Far too busy worrying about London, Paris, New York and now Milan for next spring.”  
  
“You got Milan?”  Betty was so excited for her friend.  
  
Christina’s face was alight. “Yep, phoned me late last night. There’s been a cancellation so I’m in. Italy here we come!” As she walked into her studio, she stopped short of several mood boards pinned up across the wall and there were designs littering the drawing board.  
  
“Are these for Milan then?”  
  
“No.” Christina grinned, “they’re for you.”  
  
“For me?” Betty shot a look at her friend, “what for?”  
  
“The awards in December, of course.”  
  
“Seriously?”  
  
Christina nodded. “I can’t have you turning up in any old thing. Turn up in a Christina McKinney original. It’ll not only have all the boys turning their heads but it won’t hurt my order book either.”  
  
Betty hugged her friend, “thank you. Oh that would be wonderful.” She scanned through the designs; each one had been designed with her shorter stance and larger proportions in mind, but what Christina McKinney piece wasn’t? Christina had made her name by dressing women with curves; it was one of the things that were making her so popular.  
  
“There is just one thing that I’ll need you to do though, as a favour to me for letting you have whichever dress you want.”  
  
“What’s that?”  
  
“Be my end of show model for the next collection and walk me down the catwalk?”  
  
“For London, right?”  
  
“No, all of them.”  
  
“Oh, Christina. I’d love to.” She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror that hung by the door. She knew she looked a darn sight better these days and who knew what doors that could open for her. “It wouldn’t hurt my own exposure, either. I guess?”  
  
“It would certainly make every publisher in the world sit up and think.” Christina squeezed Betty’s arm. “If that’s what you want.”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“Well, I kind of get the impression that you’re not very happy here.”  
  
“Christina, I love it here. I have you, Will and Louisa. Gio, Jennie and baby Rossi when he shows his face and I love being around you all.”  
  
“Yes, but this is me and my family. And Gio’s and his.” Betty looked like Christina had just stuck a knife in her chest. She pulled her over to the sofa. “What I mean is, I love having you around, you’ve been a Godsend but I think you’re using me as a substitute for what you need. Maybe when you go home for Christmas, you’ll see what I mean. You know, seeing how happy both your dad is with his new girlfriend and Hilda, Justin and Bobby together with the new baby on the way maybe you’ll realise that you’re missing out.”  
  
“I made the wrong choice.” She studied Christina’s face.  
  
Christina shrugged, “I don’t know Betty, honestly. I just think that you really need to take some time deciding what it is that you really want. I know you love your job but that’s one in any number of things that can make someone happy. I’ve watched the way you are with Will and Louisa and wonder sometimes whether I’m their mum or you are? They love you so much.”  
  
“I love them too.”  
  
“I know. Which says to me that you’re beginning to question your status in this world? What is the most important thing to you?”  
  
“Family.”  
  
“Above everything else and without hesitation,” Christina smiled, “you choose family?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“Your own?”  
  
Betty closed her eyes, her dreams had been changing so rapidly recently that if she just saw one thing that she knew could give her hope then she’d be on the right path. She saw a room, clinical. She was lying in a hospital bed but she was happy her eyes focused on only one thing in the room as well wishers milled around her. There were cards, balloons and flowers everywhere, no surface was left untouched. And as the dream refocused she realised that this was what she wanted. “Yes.”  
  
“You ok?” Christina asked, looking concerned.  
  
“I’m fine and you’re right. So is Gio. I am substituting you and your family for what it is I really want, and when I go home at Christmas, I’ll probably do the same there too until Papi speaks his mind and I realise how stupid I’m being.”  
  
“Ok?”  
  
She got up from her seat and walked back over to the designs, her fingers ghosting over the fine fabrics that Christina had matched to each one. “I don’t want to end up like Wilhelmina, I’ve dreamt about that and it wasn’t pretty. I also don’t want to just be the aunt or the godmother anymore. I want my own family, Christina. Mine.”  
  
“Do I need to remind you that you need a bloke for that?”  
  
“No, so I best get my act together and find someone.” She knew exactly who she wanted but how was she going to get him. “Maybe your dress will help?”


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13  
  
It was early on the twenty third of December when Daniel made his way through arrivals at JFK and out of the terminal to try and hail a cab into the city. He didn’t have to wait too long but the weather had turned bitterly cold and even snow was beginning to fall. He just hoped this wasn’t going to stop him getting back to the UK on the twenty sixth when the British would still be celebrating Christmas and the train home would be quiet.  
  
Upon reaching the outskirts of Queens, Daniel held his tongue. If only he’d had a mind to go and see Betty, he felt sure that she’d be staying with her father or even in Manhattan with her sister and her family. But he couldn’t just drop in on them and possibly spoil not only her Christmas but potentially her family’s as well.  
  
As they crossed the Queensboro Bridge he thought back to the countless times he’d crossed it in a town car either going to or coming from Betty’s. It made his heart ache knowing that they were both so close in the same city and yet they wouldn’t see one another. Any thoughts he’d had about starting over again had been systematically cleansed from his system every time he’d looked at his photo album or seen her face in her magazine, still smiling despite everything he’d put her through. And what he wouldn’t give to be able to see her on Christmas Day opening her presents, watching her face as she opened his, him placing the ring on her finger and kissing her like there was no tomorrow. He could imagine the twinkle in her eyes and the joy on her face as she finally understood what she meant to him before he made love to her beneath their tree.  
  
The taxi pulled up outside the address he’d given the driver. He fished a hundred dollar bill out of his wallet and gave it to him, “Happy Christmas.” Daniel said without waiting for any change.  
  
“Thanks man,” the driver said before Daniel closed the door.  
  
He stood in front of the imposing tower of glass and concrete, wondering why on earth his mother had decided to move here. It wasn’t anything like the house he’d been brought up in and it certainly didn’t appear to be very homely but if it was what she wanted then who was he to belittle her choice. The concierge opened the door for him as he stepped through into the lobby. “Mr Meade, isn’t it?”  
  
He smiled at the greying man, “yes. My mother isn’t expecting me so I hope you’ll let me surprise her.”  
  
“Of course, sir. A surprise visit home for Christmas, eh?” He winked at Daniel.  
  
“Something like that.”  
  
“Well, if you’d like to use the elevators over to your left and go up to the twentieth floor, sir; I’m sure your mother will be extremely happy to see you.”  
  
“We’ll see,” he managed, handing an equally large tip over to the concierge to the one he’d already given the taxi driver, “Merry Christmas … ?” He arched his eyebrows awaiting a response.  
  
“Jim, sir.”  
  
“Merry Christmas, Jim.” He started to make for the elevator.  
  
“Merry Christmas, sir.”  
  
He waved at Jim before the doors closed, “he seems like a good man.” He said to himself as the elevator whisked him up the twenty flights in no time at all. He stepped out into a hallway of coffee coloured walls and cream marble floors before choosing the door to his right and ringing the bell.  
  
“Mr Daniel?” The housekeeper exclaimed as she opened the door.  
  
“Jacinta, my God are you a sight for sore eyes. At least some things stay the same.” He picked the woman up and swung her round in the hallway.  
  
“Very good, Mr Daniel.” She cried out happily until he put her down again. Catching her breath she held onto the door handle, “your mother did not tell me that you were expected.”  
  
“It’s a surprise visit. Is she here? Mom?” He called out.  
  
“Mr Daniel, she is here but she is not …”  
  
Claire appeared on the stairs, her usually pristine appearance was replaced with a crumpled nightdress and her hair all over the place, Daniel wondered if she’d started drinking again. “Daniel?” She sprung down the last couple of steps and took him into her arms. “Oh my God, is this really you?” She drew back holding his face in her hands, smiling profusely. “Where have you been?”  
  
He noticed Jacinta as she hurried off, to sort out his room he guessed. At least his mother wasn’t throwing him out just yet. “Oh, you know, I’ve been doing the rounds, selling my soul to anyone rich enough to buy it.” He peeled his thick woollen dark grey pea coat from his body and hung it up in the closet before taking off his gloves and his scarf. “It’s getting cold out there.”  
  
“Is it darling? I can’t say that I’ve noticed.”  
  
He grinned, “is there something you need to tell me? Alexis warned me that you might not be on your own.”  
  
“I met this man at London Fashion Week, he’s …”  
  
“Come on, mom. Spit it out.”  
  
“He’s incredible. And he’s so not like Cal or your father, I’m glad to say.”  
  
“Have you ventured much outside in the last few weeks?”  
  
“A son should never ask his mother such an impertinent question.” She smirked, “but I have been, yes. I’m not you.”  
  
“It’s ok, mom. I’m not me either at the moment. Just a pale interpretation.”  
  
“Claire?” A male voice called out from above them.  
  
“If you want to go back to him then you can do,” Daniel said.  
  
“I couldn’t,” she smiled at him, before calling up the stairs. “Clive, put some clothes on and come and meet Daniel.”  
  
“Ok.” Came the response.  
  
Claire walked Daniel through to the double height living room. He looked around him in amazement; from the inside his mother’s new home was beautiful. “This place is amazing." He moved up to the windows and looked out over the Hudson River. “So is he a Brit?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“Is that all you’re going to tell me?”  
  
“Oh, Daniel. He’s wonderful. He’s a widower, his wife was killed in a car accident and he was left with a daughter to bring up on his own. He owns a printing firm, they print some of the high end glossy magazines which was why he was at Somerset House, and his daughter is a features editor at British Elle, a magazine that he prints. There is no false pretension or egocentrism. He’s all kindness and selflessness. He’s got such a big heart.”  
  
“Sounds like Betty.”  
  
“Yes, I suppose in a way he is.” She said nothing for a short while, “Daniel, we need to talk.”  
  
“We will, mom.” He turned as he heard a footfall on the hardwood flooring. He crossed the room and held out his hand to the other man. “Hi, I’m Daniel Meade. It’s very good to meet you.”  
  
“Likewise Daniel, Clive Harpenden.”  
  
“Your accent seems very familiar, are you from the southwest by any chance?”  
  
“Yes, from Saltash originally. Do you know it?”  
  
“Not particularly well, but I’ve been past it a couple of times on my way down to Newquay, for the windsurfing. I live in Salcombe.”  
  
“Wow, millionaires playground round there.”  
  
“Yeah, I guess. And the perfect area for building and selling the yachts that my company makes.”  
  
“You’re not Wayfarer’s?”  
  
“You’ve heard of us?”  
  
“With the coup you pulled with mayor? Of course, I’ve heard of you. I live and work in London, have done for twenty five years and as soon as I read that piece in ‘The Capital’ over the summer, well I knew you were on to a good thing.”  
  
“You read ‘The Capital’?”  
  
  
“Not often, but we do print it. We print all of Lesley Dunne’s publications.”  
  
“Then you know Betty Suarez?”  
  
Claire moved closer towards Daniel. “Of course,” Clive responded, “lovely girl. The piece she wrote for that designer woman who’s just had the baby was so compelling. Normally always so cheerful and bright but she’s been a bit under the weather for a while, until very recently when she’s been so happy again. It’s almost like she’s got a new boyfriend or something. Do you know her too?”  
  
Daniel sat down on the sofa, his heart beating wildly against his ribcage. “She used to work for Meade Publications at Mode.” Claire informed him. “Daniel was her boss for a while.”  
  
“Oh, I see.”  
  
“No, you don’t. Daniel has been trying to win Betty’s affections for some time now, but if it appears that she’s found someone else …”  
  
“Oh.” Clive said, “look, I can’t say that she is or she isn’t seeing anyone but it just seems like she is.”  
  
“Clive, its fine.” Daniel said eventually, getting up from his seat. “Look, it was nice to meet you. I guess you’ll be here over Christmas?”  
  
“Yes, your mother invited me.”  
  
“Clive, this is my mother’s home, she’s entitled to invite who she likes into it.” Daniel looked back at Claire, “you seem to make her very happy, so I’m cool with that.”  
  
“Thank you.”  
  
“I’m going to lie down for a bit. Mom, which room can I use?”  
  
“I set the first room on the right up just for you.” She called out, coming to stand by Clive and take his arm, as the retreating figure of her son made his way up the stairs. “Oh dear, I need to text Christina.”

  
.oOo.

As he crossed the threshold into ‘his’ room, he could see what his mother had meant by setting the room up just for him. He chuckled at some of the pictures that adorned his walls, pictures from when he was in his teens at school, others from Harvard, the odd one with Becks. Baseball pennants hung on the walls, caps littered the shelves. He picked up a couple of books, ‘Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy’, ‘Silence of the Lambs’ and ‘Christine’. Oh how he’d remembered reading them as kid. CD’s were stacked high on a unit by a desk, a microsystem sat on the top. He pulled out an old favourite and played the tracks on random.  
  
The first he recognised as soon as it started playing and it physically winded him.  
  
 _So lately, been wondering, who will be there to take my place, when I'm gone you'll need love, to light the shadows on your face ..._  
  
And wasn’t that the truth, it sickened him to the core that Betty might be seeing someone else, falling for them, sharing her dreams, her heart, her bed with them.  
  
 _…_ _Run away with my heart, Run away with my hope, Run away with my love …_  
  
He had to see her. Now. He had to find out what was going on with her, had to discover if he had lost her forever.  
  
 _... I know now, just quite how,my life and love might still go on, in your heart, in your mind, I'll stay with you for all of time._  
  
He pulled off the clothes that he had been travelling in, before delving into his bag for a black t-shirt, his charcoal Gucci pullover and black Versace jeans from his bag. He wanted to impress her and he’d use any trick in his book in order to do that.   
  
 _If I could, then I would, I'll go wherever you will go, Way up high or down low, I'll go wherever you will go._  
  
He shaved, brushed through his hair, cleaned his teeth and doused himself with a generous splash of the musk, sandalwood and cinnamon cologne that had become a favourite over the last few months for good measure, before finding his black brogues and tying them onto his feet.  
  
 _If I could turn back time, I'll go wherever you will go, If I could make you mine, I'll go wherever you will go._  
  
He was ready to go and win her back. All he needed was some cash for a cab.  
  
A knock resounded on the door before his mother poked her head around the door jamb. “Are you going somewhere?”  
  
“If you’ve come to chat, mom, this isn’t really the right time.”  
  
“Darling, are you dressed up to see Betty?”  
  
“I thought I’d see if I could talk to her. We’re both off work and on vacation, maybe this is a good time as any to wave a white flag?”  
  
“She’s not here.” Claire stepped into the room. “She didn’t come home for Christmas.”  
  
“What? Why?”  
  
“Because Hilda’s baby isn’t due for another couple of month. They all felt it was best if she waited until nearer that time to come home and celebrate Christmas with them all then.”  
  
“But that doesn’t make any sense, she’s all about family and tradition.”  
  
“I suppose it was down to timing.”  
  
“So where is she?”  
  
“In Scotland with Christina.”  
  
“And you know this because?”  
  
“Christina and I have been keeping in contact. I just had a text back from her informing me that Betty is with her and her whole family in Edinburgh.” She looked at the message on her phone. “They’re enjoying the snow. Look she’s even sent a video.” She passed the phone over to Daniel.  
  
He smiled; Betty was attempting to throw a snowball at Will, who was giggling profusely at Betty’s continuous bad shots. Daniel laughed; she was so good with him. “Is there anything else I should know?”  
  
“Apart from the fact that she isn’t seeing anybody and that she is still desperately in love with you, no. Although I would suggest that you perhaps swing by Tiffany’s tomorrow and maybe call in on Ignacio to ask his blessing. When we arrive at the Journalist Review next week, you’ll be able to talk to her then.”  
  
“I wasn’t going to go.”  
  
“You have to, Daniel. You have to represent Meade Publications if nothing else. You are still a member of the board and with your sister not being able to make it; quite frankly, I need you there for support. Besides you did vote for her as well.”  
  
“Mom, I wasn’t going to go because it’s going to be Betty’s night, I don’t want to do or say anything that may take that away from her.”  
  
Claire sighed, crestfallen. “At least be there to see her receive her award.”  
  
He nodded, “of course.”  
  
“Thank you.” He handed her phone back to her, “keep it for the minute if you want, you can run that video another couple of times.”

.oOo.

There was always something good about shopping on Christmas Eve, so long as you knew what you were going for and how you were going to get there. The town car picked Daniel up at exactly ten o’clock and proceeded to take him to Tiffany’s as his mother had suggested.  
  
The door opened for him, and he stepped inside brushing the ever falling snow from his shoulders. “Mr Meade?”  
  
“Nigel.”  
  
“Long time, no see.”  
  
“What can I say, I fell I love.”  
  
“You used to say that every other week. What are you here for, a locket?”  
  
“No.” He sucked in a shaky breath. “A ring actually.”  
  
“Something special, an eternity band maybe?”  
  
Daniel grinned, “not quite yet, but give me time.”  
  
“You’re after an engagement ring?” Nigel’s voice had become shrill. “We all know what happened last time.”  
  
“Last time I was a fool. This time I know exactly what I want.” Nigel walked him through the glass cases until they reached the engagement rings. “These are all too big, too gaudy. I want something very simple, half a carat maybe.”  
  
“Are you absolutely sure, sir?”  
  
“Yes, I’m absolutely sure. My girl has simple tastes, the last thing I want to do is frighten her off with something extravagant.”  
  
“Very good, sir. How about this one, single half carat diamond, brilliant cut on a plain band of platinum.”  
  
He smiled, feeling the ring in his fingers. This was just what he wanted for her, “perfect.” He handed it back to Nigel “Can it be engraved?”  
  
“Of course, what would you like?”  
  
“I’ll write it down,” Daniel took out his pen and scrawled his message on the paper that Nigel provided. “Is that ok? Not too much text?”  
  
Nigel read the text and smiled, shaking his head, “no, sir. That’s just right.”  
  
“Are you ok to send it over to this address?” He handed the card to Nigel, “I’m staying with mom for a few days.”  
  
“That won’t be a problem Mr Meade; it will be delivered about four o’clock this afternoon. I’ll see to it personally.”  
  
“Thank you.” As he made his way back to the entrance he turned back to Nigel. “You’ll see me again soon, I promise.”  
  
Nigel smiled, knowing that when he saw him the next time it would probably be one of the last.

.oOo.

“Derek, would you mind just waiting to see if Mr Suarez is at home? If he is and I’m invited in then you can go home. I’ll get a cab or the subway home.”  
  
“Yes, Mr Meade. Thank you. Merry Christmas.”  
  
“Merry Christmas, Derek.” Daniel jumped out of the town car and walked up the familiar steps to the front porch. Everything was the same, the nativity and the lights, the mint green sidings, the white wood frames and metalwork. It was all exactly as he remembered. He rang the doorbell.  
  
He could hear the footsteps to the front door and the inner door opening. “Yes, who is it?”  
  
“Mr Suarez, it’s Daniel. Daniel Meade.”  
  
Ignacio opened the outer door, “oh my God. Daniel, come in son.” Betty’s father welcomed Daniel into his home, taking his coat from him and hanging it on the bannister before showing him through into the living room. “You remember Elena, from Hilda’s wedding?”  
  
“Of course, it’s so good to see you again.”  
  
“And you Daniel. How have you been keeping?”  
  
“Very well, thanks. “  
  
Ignacio came back into the living room with a bottle of beer in his hand, which he passed to Daniel. “Please, sit down. Make yourself at home. Betty was telling us in the summer about your new career and where you’re now living. It sounds like a very quiet place to live, compared to the city anyway.”  
  
“Yeah, well the city will always be there if I ever want to go back to it but I’m happy where I am. The people are friendly, I’ve got several beaches on my doorstep and I have a view to die for.”  
  
Elena got up, kissed Ignacio and went upstairs, this was going to turn into a conversation that she didn’t really feel she should be a part of.  
  
“But you’re not happy?” Ignacio asked taking his coffee cup up and sipping some of his drink.  
  
“Not entirely.”  
  
“Nor is Betty.” Ignacio countered. “What is going on between you two?” He asked, the concern plastered over his face.  
  
“Mr Suarez, I’m in love with you daughter.”  
  
“Tell me something I don’t know.”  
  
“You know.”  
  
“Daniel, it was written all over your face at Hilda’s wedding. We all saw it, except Betty of course. Even Justin caught it. If only you’d had the balls to tell her that night, maybe you wouldn’t be sat on my couch now, eh?”  
  
“Sir, I didn’t realise before it was too late and by that time she’d flown the Atlantic.”  
  
“You followed her?”  
  
“Yes, but I couldn’t go to her with nothing. I couldn’t come to you and ask for Betty’s hand if I didn’t have anything I could offer her.”  
  
“Daniel, when I met Betty’s mother, I had nothing. She was married to a banker and I was their chef. But she still fell in love with me despite us having to run away from Mexico, with nothing, and having to start over from the very beginning.”  
  
“I guess I’m too proud.”  
  
“There is nothing wrong with pride so long as the intention is good, and I believe that your intentions towards my daughter have always been the best. I cannot fault that. You have been a good friend to her in the past and I know that you will take good care of her.”  
  
“Well, I would if I were able to.”  
  
“Yes, my daughter can be very stubborn at times.”  
  
“And I tend to say the wrong thing. I’m sure you’ve heard all about our latest argument.”  
  
Ignacio nodded, “from both Christina and Claire. Your mother is particularly at odds because she feels that she was the cause.”  
  
Daniel smiled, “I may have blamed her at the start but Betty and I would’ve argued about the situation at some point. Better to get it sorted out in the beginning than later on when we may end up resenting each other. I certainly don’t want my marriage to end up like my parents did.”  
  
Ignacio shook his head, “I do not think so. You and Betty are very passionate, when you do finally understand what this passion means to you both then you will always know what it is the other wants or needs. You both already show signs of it; you just need to trust your instincts.”  
  
“You mean like soul-mates?”  
  
“Call it what you will Daniel, all I know is that you two were made to be together.”  
  
“Thank you, sir.”  
  
“Ignacio, please?”  
  
“Ignacio, thanks.” He looked down at his hands before focusing back on Betty’s father. “So, if I asked your consent for Betty’s hand?”  
  
“Are you asking?”  
  
“Yes, I’m asking. I want to marry your daughter, if she’ll have me.”  
  
“Then I give you my consent. I would love nothing more than to welcome you into my family, Daniel.”  
  
Daniel got up and crossed the room, taking Ignacio’s hand and shaking it furiously. “Thank you.”  
  
“No need to thank me, son. Just promise me you’ll look after her.”  
  
“Oh, I will. I promise you.”  
  
“Very well,” Ignacio made his way out into the kitchen, “I’m going to cook mole this evening, would you care to join us?”  
  
“I’d love to.”  
  
“Good. I take it you have a decent kitchen?”  
  
“Yes. I don’t use it though. My sister and Betty have used it more times than me.”  
  
“Betty’s cooked in your kitchen.”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“What?”  
  
“Spaghetti Bolognese.”  
  
“Aye, aye, aye. What is she doing cooking Italian?” Ignacio shook his head. “Ok, Daniel. I’m going to teach you how to cook mole, ok? Then perhaps you can get her off all that pasta.”  
  
Daniel laughed, “ok, but be warned I don’t have many knife skills.”  
  
“You will learn, son. I will teach you everything.”  
  
Ignacio took Daniel under his wing and taught him how to make mole, “the secret to good mole is the chocolate that you use. When you make this at home you want the best darkest chocolate you can get, the more expensive the better.”  
  
 _“Who is Papi talking to?”_ Hilda asked Elena.  
  
“Daniel, Ignacio is teaching him how to make mole.”  
  
 _“Daniel. As in Daniel Meade? What the hell is he doing there? Put him on Elena.”_  
  
Elena passed the phone to Daniel, who balanced the receiver under his chin as he cut into the dark chocolate. “Hello?”  
  
 _“Hello yourself! What the hell are you doing over there when you should be at home making my sister happy?”_  
  
“Hilda, I’m sure you know that Betty and I aren’t exactly talking at the moment.”  
  
 _“Talking’s over-rated mister. You should just get over to her place and get it over with.”_  
  
“Oww,” he dropped the knife on the board and held his finger up in the air, Ignacio and Elena fussing around him as blood dripped down his hand. Elena wiped at the wound and patched Daniel up.  
  
Ignacio took the phone from him, “Hilda, I don’t want to know what you told Daniel but he just cut himself.”  
  
 _“Oh, tell him sorry. But he knows I’m right, tell him that too. He should be making out with Betty rather than doing whatever he’s doing at yours.”_  
  
“Ok, well I’ll tell him. We’ll see you all tomorrow.” He put the phone down, “she says she’s sorry and that you know she’s right?”  
  
“Believe me, I would much rather be take … t … t … telling Betty how much I love her right now than being here with you guys, no offence.”  
  
“None taken. Honestly, you young people don’t ever seem to think that we were young once. To tell you the truth Daniel, I’m happy to have my house to myself so that I can make love to Elena in every room in the house, if I choose to.” Elena laughed, kissed his cheek and playfully smacked his bottom before going and laying the table. “Jeez, that woman.” He grinned.  
  
“Daniel, when you look at my daughter, I know what you feel. I felt the same thing for her mother and she blessed me with two incredible daughters. Tell her everyday how much you love her but never forget, sex is fun but it is so much better to make love to the woman you love.”  
  
Daniel nodded, a little perplexed with how the conversation had run. He’d never tell his mom about his sex life, yet here he was talking to Ignacio about making love to his daughter. “I’ll remember that.”  
  
“Come on its time for dinner.”  
  
Daniel spent a wonderful evening with both Elena and, he hoped, his soon to be father in law. They chatted over dinner about what had been going on with them all since they’d been together at Hilda’s wedding before playing a game of poker. Ignacio taught him the rules as they went along and by the end of it Daniel had actually got the hang of it and was starting to win. By the time he was ready for home, Ignacio looked out of the window to see what was happening with the weather. “Daniel, it looks really bad out there.”  
  
He stood behind the older man, checking out the snow that was still falling. “Wow, I don’t think I’m going to get a cab in that.”  
  
“No. I think you ought to stay.”  
  
“Ignacio, I couldn’t encroach on your hospitality any longer.”  
  
“Daniel, you are like a son to me. How could I face your mother if something happened to you? You can stay in Betty’s room, it is no trouble. And tomorrow when we go to Hilda’s you can come with us, we can drop you off at you mother’s.”  
  
“If you’re sure?”  
  
Ignacio made a face, “I also would not be able to face my daughter if you were killed or maimed out there tonight. Please, stay. Mi casa es tu casa.”  
  
“Thanks Ignacio. Well, if you don’t mind I’ll go up. I think I can remember the way.” He walked up the stairs and on to the landing, turning right and going into Betty’s bedroom. He switched on the light and closed the door behind him taking in the tasteful collage of photographs that were now in a frame on the wall, including her graduation photo that he’d woken up to the last time he was in this room. “So, you weren’t the only one to have a makeover?” he said to himself as he walked around the room.  
  
Gone were the flowery wallpaper and the pink bedhead, having been replaced by a buttercup paint on the walls and a cherry wooden bedframe. The Little Mermaid pillowcases and duvet set had been switched for more contemporary bedding in a darker shade of buttercup, with satin trims and embroidered flowers stitched onto the fabric. There were items from her Manhattan apartment adorning her walls, shelves and any other free space that could be sought. Good luck cards filled her desk, he picked up one. “You’ve got balls, Betty Suarez. All the best, Wilhelmina.” He smirked, so Betty had even been able to get through to the Ice Queen’s heart as well.  
  
He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled his phone from out of his pocket. “Hi mom, I’m at Ignacio’s. The weather’s too bad for me to come home tonight so I’ll ride in with them tomorrow, ok?”  
  
 _“Of course, Daniel. I’d rather you be safe than sorry.”_  
  
“Thanks mom. I love you.”  
  
There was a pause, a sniffle.  _“I love you too, son. Very much.”_  
  
And as he lay in Betty's bed he realised that this was the closest he’d ever been to sleeping with her, even though it was madness to think that way. The darkness consumed him and he was soon asleep, but the tortuous night he’d envisaged was nothing to the slumber that he actually achieved. He’d only ever slept as peacefully once before, the previous time he’d slept in this same room. Then he remembered Ignacio’s earlier words,  _you two were made for each other._ If he wanted to win this fight he had to believe that. And boy, did he want to win.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14  
  
Daniel awoke to the smell of sweet cinnamon and the sound of children playing out in the snow. He looked at the clock on the wall. Seven thirty. OK, so it was Christmas but did people really have to get up that early.  
  
He stretched out under the covers, straightening out any kinks that his body had acquired from sleeping in the small double bed before sitting up and smoothing his hands through his hair. He leant his head against the bed head wondering what Christmas morning would be like with Betty. Certainly, if they didn’t have any children or perhaps they were pregnant with their first then he would be waking her up slowly and seductively, making their morning an unhurried, passionate affair only getting out of bed so that he could retrieve his present for her and watching her face as she opened his thoughtful gift. Once they had kids he figured he would be as excited as the children he could hear playing outside, getting his brood up and making them French toast whilst mummy slept in, waking her with breakfast in bed before he wrapped her in his arms and they both watched their children open their presents.  
  
There was a tap on the door, “Come in.” Daniel called.  
  
Ignacio popped his head around the now open doorway, “I hope you slept well?”  
  
“Yes, thanks. Very well. Something smells good.”  
  
“Ah, bunuelos. Especially for Christmas. I’ve had to make a big batch to take over to Hilda’s with us; otherwise I will never hear the end of it.” Ignacio paused. “I hope you’d like to have dinner with us?”  
  
“Ignacio, I couldn’t. Mom’s expecting me back and we were going to have a quiet family lunch.”  
  
“Actually, I’ve already spoken to your mother. She and her new boyfriend are going to meet us at Hilda’s. She’s bringing whatever food and presents she has and we’re going to make a day of it.”  
  
“Oh, right. Well ok.”  
  
“You don’t seem very comfortable about that? We’re practically family.”  
  
 _Not quite._ “Ok, I’d love to.” He smiled, “are we eating any buene …”  
  
“Bunuelos. Yes, of course. If we don’t eat here there certainly won’t be any left by the time the others have eaten their share. Feel free to use anything in the bathroom, Elena kindly got you a toothbrush from the store, and come down when you’re ready.”  
  
“Thanks Ignacio,” he said, as Ignacio closed the door behind him. He picked up his clothes and stepped through the landing to the bathroom. It felt strange that here he was, in Betty’s house, using it as if it were his own and yet Betty wasn’t with him. He showered quickly, brushed his teeth and went back to Betty’s room in order to brush his hair before finding his way back through the house to the kitchen.  
  
“Take a load off,” Ignacio offered, before placing a plate of freshly cooked bunuelos in front of him, the warm mini doughnuts giving off a sweet warming smell of sugar, cinnamon and honey.  
  
Elena filled his mug with coffee and placed the sugar and cream next to it in case he wanted any, but he was too eager to try the food. Picking up his fork, he prodded the first ball and swirled it though some of the sticky honey on his plate. He brought the morsel to his mouth and bit into it. “This is incredible,” he managed before giving in to the rest of the plate. “I wonder what Betty’s having?”  
  
Ignacio and Elena exchanged a look. “Well, she won’t be having these. Daniel, you are aware that my youngest daughter isn’t much of a cook?”  
  
“Ignacio, I don’t want to marry her for her catering skills.” Daniel’s eyes shot up to meet Ignacio’s, “what I meant was …”  
  
“Daniel, relax. I told you last night, I know how the world works. You have had a zealous past but I’ve known for quite a while how you’ve felt about her and I know you’ll do everything in your power to look after my girl and love her as she deserves to be loved.”  
  
“Absolutely, sir.” He said before quickly adding, “Ignacio.” Ignacio smiled.  
  
“So, about the cooking.”  
  
“Thank you for showing me how to make the mole last night. I’m going to try it out when I get home, do you think you could email me the recipe, please?” If he was ever in a position to impress Betty then cooking mole would be a good start.  
  
“Of course, but if you really want to amaze my daughter with your catering skills then you need to learn how to make tamales, she’s very partial to them.”  
  
“Right,” Daniel’s brow furrowed, “well, maybe we can video chat and make them together one day?”  
  
“Sounds good, Daniel.” Ignacio fished the last of the bunuelos out of the pan and covered the tray. “Ok, ready to go when you are.”

.oOo.

Hilda’s and Bobby’s place in the city was extremely unexpected, a three bedroom new build apartment in East Harlem a few blocks over from Central Park. Add to that the equally unexpected welcome that he received from both Betty’s sister and brother-in-law and Daniel was feeling overwhelmed. He’d only been there five minutes.  
  
As soon as Hilda had opened the front door she was hugging the life out of Daniel only for her to then start apologising for her sister’s stupid behaviour towards him and that she hoped he would forgive Betty.  
  
Daniel smiled, “she’s been patient with me and all my stupidity over the years. It’s the least I can do.”  
  
Hilda’s eyes were rimmed with tears, “Daniel, you’ll make her so happy,” before her stance completely changed, “of course, that’s only if she’d open her God damn eyes to see what’s in front of her.” She stormed back into the kitchen.  
  
Bobby handed Daniel a beer, “not too early for you I hope?”  
  
Daniel looked at his watch, it was nearly eleven. “Not if I take it easy,” they chinked bottles.  
  
“I’m sorry about Hilda, it’s the pregnancy.”  
  
“Congratulations Bobby.”  
  
“Hey, thanks. I try to keep her calm what with the miscarriage last year but you know what these Latina women are like.”  
  
“Yeah,” Daniel chuckled, remembering only too well that it wasn’t just the elder sister that had that same certain spark. “I’m really happy for you. You seem to have everything you both wanted. You married your best friend, you have a warm and happy home with her and now you’re adding to your family. It’s great, Bobby.”  
  
“If only we could see Chipmunk settled too, that would make Hilda really happy.”  
  
“I’m doing my best.”  
  
“Hey, Daniel, no pressure. You know Betty has to come around to things in her own time; it’s just the way she is. She gets so focused on her job that everything else fades away. You were her job, man. Now she’s got bigger fish to fry at the moment.” Daniel’s heart sank, “But if it’s any consolation, I think when Hilda has the baby Betty will suddenly realise that life is ticking on by and she needs to grasp more of the action.”  
  
That lifted him a little, “so you’re saying that once she realises that family is the most important thing then her attitude towards her job will change?”  
  
“Yeah, something like that.” A knock on the door heralded the arrival of his mother. Bobby opened the door.  
  
“Hey mom,” Daniel smiled, crossing the hall and taking his mother into a hug.  
  
“Good morning, son.” She pulled back, “you look like you’ve had a good night’s sleep finally.”  
  
He nodded, “yeah. It was great.” He introduced her and Clive to Bobby.  
  
Once the introductions were done and the food was being presided over by Ignacio, Claire pulled Daniel to one side. “I just wanted to let you know that most of the arrangements have been made but there are still a couple of things to sort out once we get to London. Also, Nigel called around last evening a little later than suggested but with the extra pieces you ordered on your way out to Queens, I hope you didn’t mind but I had to take a look.”  
  
“No, not at all. I thought I may as well get everything in one hit. What do you think?”  
  
“Daniel, they’re perfect. And so Betty.” She grinned, “I knew you’d make the right choice by yourself.” She held onto his arm as they walked through into the lounge. “And the inscription on the solitaire?”  
  
“It’s from her favourite book.”  
  
She pointed a finger to his heart. “I knew there was a romantic in there somewhere.” Justin got up and offered Claire his seat. As she sat down she looked over at the tree. “What wonderful decorations,” she said with feeling.  
  
Justin couldn’t help himself, “do you remember those decorations we made, Daniel?”  
  
Claire looked back to her son, an eyebrow raised and grinning. “Yeah,” he walked round to the tree spotting some of the mementoes that had been made on that day he’d hidden out a Betty’s house while she’d been organising the baby Chutney shoot. He put his hands in his pockets and surveyed the tree, “it looks great.”  
  
“But there’s something missing.” Justin handed over the stocking that he’d made for Daniel.  
  
Daniel took it before hugging Justin. “I think Santa’s been already.”  
  
But Justin was undeterred. “Please?”  
  
He nodded and smiled before hanging the stocking from a branch towards the top. He looked back to Justin. “Thanks.”  
  
“No, thank you.” Ignacio piped up, “you were a great help that day.”  
  
And it was at that point that Daniel realised how much he was respected by this family and certainly far more than he could have ever imagined. “Thanks, Ignacio.”  
  
He sat on the arm of the sofa next to his mother, his arm snaking around her shoulders. “Are you going to tell me what that was all about?”  
  
“It was the first Christmas I helped decorate a tree and I loved every moment. It was also about the same time that Sophia was just about to stamp on my heart, but I really don’t want to think about that.”  
  
She leant into him. “This family have given you so much.”  
  
“Yeah, more than you know. I just hope I get the chance to give them something back.” He got up and walked towards the dining table, picking up the cutlery and helping Hilda to lay it out.  
  
Clive took Claire’s hand in his. “He’s an asset to you Claire.”  
  
She shook her head. “No, he’s an asset to Betty. I may have given birth to him but she gave him a life and for that I will be forever grateful.”

.oOo.

Betty shook the freshly laying snowflakes from her face and hair as she and Will were being called in to dinner. Helping Will pull his boots off, he proceeded to help her but to no avail, and the poor child didn’t have the strength to help her so he went in search of mummy so that she could help Aunt Betty.  
  
“Oh my God, Betty, what are you doing?”  
  
Lying on the floor she had attempted to push the boots from off her feet by wedging them against the door frame. She giggled at her own initiative, in another life it probably would’ve worked but it needed the hefty hand of her friend in order to get them off. “If only Papi could see me now.”  
  
Christina laughed, “how many pairs of socks did you put on? It’s Scotland not Siberia.”  
  
“Remind me never to go there,” she was still giggling as Christina helped her up and then out of her coat.  
  
“Betty, you’re dressed for sub-zero temperatures.”  
  
“I’m not used to being this cold. I know that the weather in London isn’t always favourable but at least it’s on a par with New York. Here, its freezing.”  
  
“You need someone to keep you warm, you wouldn’t bother about it so much then.”  
  
“And who would you suggest?” Christina looked away, hanging Betty’s coat up on the rack by the door. “You know that ship has sailed.”  
  
“No, I don’t Betty. And in your heart, nor do you.”  
  
“Hmm. We’ll see. I suppose I’ve got the awards to look forward to, maybe I’ll see Daniel then?”  
  
“So, why don’t you ask Claire if he’ll be there?”  
  
“I suppose I could, I’ll ring her later once I’ve spoken to my family.”  
  
After waiting all day to eat, Betty and Christina’s family sat down to a feast of turkey, roast potatoes and parsnips, dauphinois potatoes, brussel sprouts with chestnuts, braised red cabbage and buttered carrots. Christina stood and raised a toast to absent friends putting the emphasis on not only her husband but also on those that were missing by default. Betty couldn’t help but wonder what Daniel was up to at that moment, but she kept it to herself. Once the turkey carcass and plates had been cleared away, they were treated to a flaming Christmas pudding with brandy sauce. It had been the first time Betty had tried it and although she wasn’t keen on the custard, she loved the fruity suet dessert.  
  
After dinner and the children were asleep, Betty decided it would be a good moment to Skype her family. She booted up her laptop and pressed the call button. It took several attempts to connect the call and once connection was finally made it was Claire that greeted her rather than Hilda or Justin.  _“Hello, Betty. Merry Christmas”_  
  
“Claire? I just called Hilda’s, didn’t I? You’re at Hilda’s?”  
  
 _“Yes, we are.”_ We are? _“Hilda saw me out and about a couple of days ago and wondered if Clive and I would like to spend the day with them, seeing as your father and his girlfriend would be here too. A perfect time to catch up.”_  
  
“Ok. Happy Christmas.” Betty supposed that could be true, “so you and Clive have been making a go of things?”  
  
 _“Yes, I feel like a giddy teenager. What with the new apartment and the new boyfriend, things finally seem like they’re coming together for me.”_  
  
“I’m so happy for you.”  
  
 _“Thank you.”_  
  
“How are Alexis, Tyler and Daniel taking the news?”  
  
 _“Alexis is great about it and Tyler doesn’t much mind one way or another. I haven’t spoken to Daniel in over two weeks so I have no idea what he thinks. And when we do talk it’s only a few choice words here and there.”_  
  
“I’m sorry.” She paused, unsure of how to proceed. “Do you know if he’s ok?”  
  
 _“When I spoke to Alexis this morning she said he was faring well but she hates to see him like this. And, quite frankly, so do I. I hate hearing about it. After all, he’s still my son and I love him. Did you read his letter?”_  
  
“Yes, every time I feel a bit sad or lonely I take it out and read it. I just remind myself that he loved me, once.” She felt Christina’s hand on her shoulder.  
  
 _“Oh, Betty, I wish I was there so that I could hug you and make you feel better. And from what Alexis tells me he’s still very much in love with you.”_ Betty attempted a smile but it didn’t reach her eyes. Claire touched the screen with her hand.  _“Did you get my gift?”_  
  
Betty suddenly brightened, “yes, it’s beautiful. Christina says I’ll be able to wear it on Wednesday for the awards.”  
  
 _“I can’t wait to see you in your especially designed dress, I’m sure Christina has done a wonderful job.”_  
  
“Yes, I’ve been really fortunate to have her do this for me. Although I do owe her something in return.”  
  
 _“Which is?”_  
  
“To be her end of show model and lead her onto the catwalk.”  
  
 _“Which show? London?”_  
  
“No, London, Milan, Paris and New York.”  
  
 _“You’ll have to tell me all about it on Wednesday when I see you.”_  
  
“Ok, I can’t wait to catch up with you. Is Alexis coming? Or Daniel?” She added quietly.  
  
 _“Alexis has to work, unfortunately and I’m not sure if Daniel will make an appearance. I have impressed upon him that someone else on the board should support me seeing as we all voted for you. Is Christina coming down?”_  
  
“No, she’s staying at home till after New Year.”  
  
 _“Well you won’t be on your own. I’m planning to stay with Clive so I’m sure he wouldn’t mind inviting you to celebrate New Year with us.”_  
  
“Thanks, I’ll think about it.”  
  
 _“You do that. Ok, I’ve taken up enough of your time, so I’ll pass you over to Hilda and Justin.”_ The laptop moved up the line and as it moved she could’ve sworn that she had seen Daniel. But how could she, Claire had said that he was staying with Alexis.  _“Merry Christmas, Betty.”_  She heard everyone shout, even those off camera.  
  
“Happy Christmas, everyone.” She smiled her biggest smile whilst waving to the camera. “I can’t wait to see you all in the spring.”  
  
The laptop moved again so that Betty could now see her father.  _“Mija, I hope those Scottish people are looking after my baby.”_  
  
“Yeah, they’re feeding me up so I can’t feel the cold. I couldn’t get my boots off before because I had four pairs of socks on. We had turkey and … these wonderful potatoes with loads of cream … And brussel sprouts.”  
  
 _“That’s the devil’s work.”_ Her father turned his nose up as she heard the others making all kinds of weird sounds.  
  
“No, no, they were very good. They had loads of butter and bacon and,” she looked up to her friend, “what were those nuts?”  
  
“Chestnuts.” Christina said.  
  
“Oh, yeah. Chestnuts, they were so sweet. And then there was the Christmas pudding.”  
  
 _“Stop, stop. Oh my God, you’ll be putting on fifty pounds if they keep feeding you like that.”_  
  
The camera suddenly moved again,  _“hey, Chipmunk looks gorgeous. How you doing, Chipmunk?”_ From behind Bobby’s left shoulder she spotted Claire, her smile fixed and her arm around … her son? It was definitely Daniel. What the hell was he doing in New York and what the hell was he doing in her sister’s apartment?  _“Chipmunk?”_  
  
“Bobby, hi. I’m good. I just,” she looked directly into Daniel’s eyes, “miss you so much. I can’t wait to be there. Papi I hope you’ll be making those bunuelos for me when I get back.”  
  
 _“You betcha. We can’t wait for you to come home either. Shame you’re not here now but it will be so much better when your sister has her baby.”_  
  
“Yeah.” She smiled, her eyes becoming glassy. “Look, I’d better go, they want to teach me this card game they play at Christmas.”  
  
 _“Don’t you go betting your life savings Betty, I’m sure Christina’s a shark when she gets going.”_  
  
“Papi, please. They’re breaking me in gently, we’re going to play with matchsticks until I know what I’m doing then it’ll be one’s and two’s.”  
  
 _“Dollars?”_  
  
“Papi, relax. Just pennies,” she held up her hand with some of the British coins in her hand. “See. I hardly think they’re going to break me over fifty pence worth of copper.”  
  
 _“Ok, mija. Love you and see you soon.”_  
  
“Bye everyone, see you all soon.” She kissed her hand and touched the screen before closing the connection. Turning in her seat she started to smile. “Daniel’s in New York with Claire.”  
  
“What?” Christina asked.  
  
“I just saw him on the screen, he was stood behind Bobby, and Claire had her arm around him. They’re hatching something.”  
  
“Betty. Come on now. You’re being paranoid.”  
  
“Am I? After the stunts you and Alexis pulled off earlier in the year.” She paused, thinking about Claire lying to her. “One thing is for certain, I have to look like a million dollars on Wednesday.”  
  
“That’s my girl.” Christina encouraged, before standing up straight with a look of confusion plastered over her face. “Why?”  
  
“Because Claire is going to make sure that Daniel will be at the ceremony.”

.oOo.

Throughout the whole family dinner and speeches that everyone was eager to share, Daniel watched from the side-lines. He’d grown up not knowing what it was like to have a proper Christmas family meal with so much joy and happiness. If only Betty could’ve been here too, with her words of wisdom, her childlike enthusiasm for tradition and the shy looks they would share from across the table until they were alone together for the rest of the evening.  
  
Claire’s hand touched his shoulder, “so this is what a family Christmas is all about?” She smiled wistfully. “I should’ve taken lessons from Ignacio years ago.”  
  
Daniel looked to his mother and smiled, “mom, we had some good times.”  
  
“I know, especially you and I. Alexis was always with your father doing whatever it was they did together and I had you. I only wish that I could’ve given you more of … well, this.”  
  
He rested his hand over hers. “I’ve learned so much from them, mom, from Betty especially, of course.”  
  
“Of course.”  
  
“They’re not wealthy but they’re the richest people I know. All they’ve ever needed to get through any problem is their love for one another. A tenth of what they have would make me happy.”  
  
Claire nodded, “yes, I remember the first day I met Betty. I think I scared her.”  
  
Daniel laughed, “well you did tell her you’d killed Fey Sommers.”  
  
“Ah, yes,” Claire grinned. “In my defence I was plastered.”  
  
“You also got up out of your milk bath naked.”  
  
“She told you that, I don’t remember.”  
  
“Well Betty sure does. I think you scarred her for life. Although, Wilhelmina may have also had a hand in that too.”  
  
“Tell me more.”  
  
“The shoot in the Bahamas. Willi goes missing so Betty tries to find her down at her cabana. Anyway as she’s knocking at the door, Willi comes up behind her wearing nothing but a thong and a smile.”  
  
“Now that I would’ve paid good money to see. Poor Betty.”  
  
“Yeah.” He sighed, “I’ve been so stupid. I should never have let her go back to Matt then.”  
  
“Daniel, you had no way of knowing how she was going to feel about you whenever you finally broached the subject. Everything has a natural order, look at Clive. Who would’ve thought that I’d get it together with a printer? But I took a leaf out of your book, and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I loved your father Daniel but he didn’t love me enough to want to stay true to me, in all fairness when I found solace in the arms of another man I can’t say that I loved your father as much as I should have either. But with Clive everything is simple and straightforward, there’s no pretension, no scheming. And ok, so it took me nearly forty years to find such happiness. It’s now my time to live a full life.  
  
“It will be the same for you, the road may have been a bit rocky and there were a few hurdles to overcome but you made it and it’s made you into a much better person. I did worry that you would end up being like your father for a while but I know that all that womanising is now behind you and that when you and Betty finally unite you will stay true to her as she will stay true to you.” She kissed his cheek, wiping at the mark that she’d left from her lipstick, “and I don’t doubt that the two of you will have a beautiful family much like this one. A home filled with happiness, laughter and grandchildren, what more could I ask for.”  
  
“Thanks mom.”  
  
“My pleasure son.” It was at that point that the laptop started ringing. Mass pandemonium ensued as everyone got themselves ready to speak to Betty. “Will someone answer the poor girl?” Claire asked as she grabbed the laptop and settled herself on the couch.  
  
Daniel got up and rushed to the back of the room, “mom, please don’t let her know I’m here.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“Because she may think this is another big set-up or something. I don’t want to have to use Wednesday as a do-over because she’s angry with me at the thought that you and I have been scheming.”  
  
“Ok, I guess that’s sensible.” She made sure he was out of sight before accepting the call. “Hello, Betty. Merry Christmas”  
  
Betty’s perplexed face filled the screen _. “Claire? I just called Hilda’s, didn’t I? You’re at Hilda’s?”_  
  
“Yes, we are.” Betty flinched a little, Claire thought of something quick. “Hilda saw me out and about a couple of days ago and wondered if Clive and I would like to spend the day with them, seeing as your father and his girlfriend would be here too. A perfect time to catch up.”  
  
As Daniel listened to the conversation he grew increasingly agitated. Why couldn’t this torturous period in their lives ever seem to end?  _“Do you know if he’s ok?”_ He heard Betty ask.  
  
“When I spoke to Alexis this morning she said he was faring well but she hates to see him like this. And, quite frankly, so do I. I hate hearing about it. After all, he’s still my son and I love him. Did you read his letter?” His heart skipped a beat, so she’d given a copy of the hundredth edition to Betty.  
  
 _“Yes, every time I feel a bit sad or lonely I take it out and read it. I just remind myself that he loved me, once.”_ He shook his head, “I still do,” he whispered to himself as Bobby exchanged the empty beer bottle in his hand for a fresh one.  
  
“Oh, Betty, I wish I was there so that I could hug you and make you feel better. And from what Alexis tells me he’s still very much in love with you.” _Thanks mom._  
  
If he were a braver man he’d tell her right now how he felt about her, in front of her whole family. Hell he’d even propose to her if it would take that look of desolation from her face. But he couldn’t, he’d made a plan and he was going to stick to it. He had to make sure that there was absolutely no way for her to ever escape from him again. He’d learnt that lesson the hard way.  
  
Her next comment about being a catwalk model made him smile, he remembered back to the alternative show that he and Betty had put together. He looked up to find Hilda staring back, she winked at him. She’d obviously remembered it too. All he could think of was how amazing Betty had looked in the silver dress, she’d been less than confident until she’d seen him cheering for her at the end of the catwalk but he knew that the next time she did it she would be brimming over with confidence. If he could just see her do it once, he’d be happy.  
  
Then he heard her say his name again, it was quiet but it was almost as if she was saying it just for him. It touched his heart.  
  
He heard his mother say that she’d told him to be at the awards and not even wild horses were going to keep him away now. And the cover for New Year was also another expertly created lie. He wondered how his mother found it so easy.  
  
His mother passed Betty over to the rest of the family before joining Daniel. They kept quiet listening to the conversation she was having with her family about her enjoyment of spending time with Christina’s family in Scotland. As she spoke the words, ‘miss you so much’, he lifted his head to look at her face on the screen. It was if she was saying those words only to him, which of course she could’ve only done if she knew he was here rather than in Paris as his mother had told her. “She knows.”  
  
“Sorry, Daniel?” Claire asked.  
  
“She knows I’m here.”  
  
“How could she?”  
  
“She must have seen me when the laptop was being moved around.”  
  
They re-joined the Suarez family after they had said their goodbye’s to Betty. Within seconds both Claire’s and Hilda’s cell phones sprang into life.  
  
“Crap!” Hilda screamed.  
  
Claire just looked up to Daniel before shrugging. “She knows.”

.oOo.

Dinner wore on into the afternoon and the afternoon into the evening. Ignacio’s Latino snacks littered the table so that everyone could graze on them. Daniel, Clive and Bobby had been trying to show Justin the finer points of playing poker, whilst Hilda, Elena and Claire talked maternity wear and baby accessories. Ignacio smiled, this was what family was all about, although he wasn’t keen on the men showing Justin how to bet. “Maybe one day your Uncle Danny and me can take you to a casino.”  
  
Hilda caught the end of his sentence, “if I find out that either you or Uncle Danny have taken my son to a casino, I will castrate the pair of you.”  
  
Daniel and Bobby exchanged a glance, but Clive couldn’t help himself. “You’ll be alright with me son. Come and visit me in London and I’ll take you to one. Your mother will be far too busy with these two to worry about me.”  
  
“Yes, but I won’t!” Claire commanded.  
  
Ignacio, drew Elena into a hug and kissed her neck. “It’s a good feeling when everything is right in the world.”  
  
“Not quite everything,” Elena corrected.  
  
“Betty and Daniel will find their way.” Ignacio said, watching how well Daniel had seemingly fitted into the Suarez family. “Let’s just hope it’s before I die, I’ve already told Betty that I want to see my grandchildren before I take my leave.”  
  
“Ignacio,” Elena turned in his arms, her face concerned. “Are you ok?”  
  
“I’m fine. In fact, I’m better than fine.” He held her, nodding to Daniel when he looked up from his hand of cards. “Everything is going to be fine.”  
  
Ignacio offered to take Claire, Clive and Daniel back to Claire’s apartment so that they wouldn’t have to wait for someone to come and finish their celebrations in order to pick them up. As he pulled up in front of the block he got out of the car and hugged Claire, “thank you for such a wonderful day. I know that Hilda appreciates having even the smallest amount of female company. Especially when her sister is miles away.”  
  
“Ignacio, it was a pleasure. And tell her, if she ever needs anything, even if it’s just to meet up for a coffee and a chat then I’d be more than happy to if I’m around.”  
  
“Thank you, that means a lot.” He shook Clive’s hand before the happy couple quickly made their way into the building and turned his attention to Daniel.  
  
Daniel held out his hand to Ignacio. “Thank you for today, it helped me to realise that I need to stop wasting any more time pursuing Betty.”  
  
“Good.” He patted Daniel’s arm. “Because I think that she is also in the right place. Why else would she keep asking about you?”  
  
“We were friends for a very long time.”  
  
“Yes, and as friends she would’ve dropped everything to make sure you were ok. But now, you both dance around your relationship. Mijo, it’s good to hear you’ve come to your senses. I for one cannot wait till New Year.”  
  
“No nor me. I’m just glad that you’re all so happy to go along with my plans.” He smiled as Ignacio drew him into a hug. “I just hope she’s as accommodating.”  
  
"She will be." Ignacio smiled before heading back to his car. Then stopped and came back to him. "Besides, I've already told Betty, I want to see my grandchildren before I die. So you two better get busy." He also pulled out Daniel's stocking from his coat pocket. "I nearly forgot, Justin wanted you to have this. I think they're may be something inside."  
  
Daniel grinned, watching the car as it drove away. He walked up the steps and inside, the stocking dearly held between both hands. Claire was still waiting for him. As they rode the elevator together, she asked, "what did Ignacio say that made you grin like that?"  
  
“He said he’d spoken to Betty and told her that he wants to see his grandchildren before he dies. He was insinuating that there might not be much time.”  
  
“No, I don’t think it was that,” Claire smiled, “I just think he wants to see  _all_  of his grandchildren.” She winked up at him.  
  
“How many does he think we’re going to have?”  
  
“As many as your love will allow, Daniel. You’ll both just know when it’s the right time to start and the right time to stop.”  
  
He smiled at his mother, “thanks, mom.”  
  
She kissed him on the cheek. “My pleasure.”


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15  
  
Daniel had finally got five minutes to himself; he’d arrived back in the UK on Boxing Day attempting to find any kind of accommodation that was suitable for his impromptu rearrangement of his travel plans, especially as his normal haunts were fully booked. He’d then spent Tuesday morning speaking with Alexis, Philippe and Jay about what his thoughts were for the business, whilst Tuesday afternoon and most of the day he’d been sorting through his plans and making things happen. He still had a few things to finalise but he had a couple of days so he had his fingers crossed that everything would work out and he now had plenty of time to get ready for Betty’s big night.  
  
He sat down on the couch in his penthouse suite at the Westbury Hotel and sipped his tea, noticing the stocking that Justin had made for him. Justin had only been a kid when he’d made it and now he was a young man making his way in the world, with a little help from Marc. But why had he wanted Daniel to have it instead of keeping it on the tree?  
  
Daniel picked it up and rubbed his hands over the fabric, it was a bit lumpy so he peered in through the opening. Inside were several pieces of paper so he pulled them out and began unfolding them. The first carried a series of signatures.  _Mrs Betty Meade, Mrs Betty Suarez-Meade, Mrs Beatriz Uriana Meade._ The list continued. He had to laugh, how many ways could you sign your name? Not that he cared so long as she ended up taking Meade as her surname, and the possibility had obviously occurred to her.  
  
The next few pieces of paper were several journal entries from over their last six months together. He wasn’t going to read them yet, not until he had a little more time anyway. The final piece was a letter that Betty had written to Daniel and simply dated spring, two thousand and nine.  _Dear Daniel, Why didn’t you come to my party? I so desperately wanted to see you before I left but now it’s too late. You’ll be here getting on with your life without me and I’ll be gone, my heart breaking into millions of tiny pieces because I can no longer see you or speak to you every day._  
  
 _There are things that I needed to tell you. For instance, I’d recently had the closest shave ever but I can’t bear to think that what I have to tell you will change your opinion of me, which is why I’m writing this down instead of speaking to you about it. I know that we’ve shared so many things but this is something I’m not very proud of._  
  
 _Papi put on a multi-cultural Christmas dinner for us all so that we could meet his new girlfriend who was Jewish. When she turned up both Hilda and I recognised her from the pharmacy. We’d both been in there that afternoon buying pregnancy testing kits._  “A pregnancy test?” He read on. _I’d gotten home first, used the stick and when Hilda had banged on the door to use the bathroom, I hid my test behind the tissue box. In my haste, I knocked the test onto the floor. Hilda had obviously done the same because by the time each one of us had gone into the bathroom to check out our test we both figured we were pregnant._  
  
 _I hadn’t had the best of days, I’d felt nauseous most of the morning. Matt had suggested that I was ‘glowing’ due to our re-kindled relationship that we were building on by living in the moment._ “Well, that would make anyone feel sick.” He said.  _Then I’d suddenly felt so hungry that I ate half your bagel and got a current stuck in my braces._ He chuckled, remembering the day as if it had been yesterday.  _And then some random guy at the bus stop offered me his seat because he thought I was in a delicate condition. Needless to say, by the time I got back to Queens I was a paranoid wreck and needed to know one way or the other._  
  
 _When Hilda and I realised that we’d both done a test and dropped them, we ran up to the bathroom and checked. One of us was pregnant and I was holding the positive stick when Matt walked in on us. He went and got another kit after he’d thrown all this stuff at me about him not being so good with finding something he wanted to do, that maybe it was life’s way of finding him, and that there was nobody better to have a baby with than me but all I kept thinking about was I don’t want this, not yet and not with Matt. Once my test came back negative I was so relieved. I just wish I’d had the nerve to come and tell you. But I couldn’t. I didn’t want to see you disappointed in me, especially if the test had been positive. I couldn’t stand to think that you would never see me in the same light any longer. That maybe we couldn’t be friends anymore because having a child with another man would seriously misalign our status quo._  
  
 _And I couldn’t do that. You’re my best friend and yet, you’re more than that. There have been times when I’ve told you to do things that I wish I could’ve taken back. I advised you to get back on the horse when we went to the Bahamas and had I not been so near sighted then I wouldn’t have got back together with Matt and maybe you and I could’ve had a shot. I was just so confused and a little jealous of Amanda, if I’m honest. And when I’d found out that you and she … well, enough said._ “Oh, Betty.”  _There have also been times when I’ve hated myself too, who could forget the Blobby’s? How we’d argued. I hated that, I’ve hated every argument we’ve had. I know it meant that we were growing but I guess it also meant that we were growing apart._  
  
 _But we’ve had some fantastic times too. It’s just that lately, they’ve become a little too good. I’ve been feeling more for you than perhaps I should do. The day at the Guggenheim was one example, reading far too much into your reply that I looked great without my braces, or the look you gave me at Hilda’s wedding when you’d just arrived. I know that I shouldn’t be writing this down but it’s the only way I can share my secret. I’m falling for you and I don’t know what to do._  
  
 _And that’s the reason for me running away, apart from the fact that I have just been given the opportunity of a lifetime. I simply can’t turn it down, I just also wish that if we’d been given one moment where we could see how great we would be together and then maybe we could give us a chance. But that’s not to be and I just hope that in time you can forgive me for what I need to do._  
  
 _Your loving friend, Betty x_  
  
“Oh, wow!” He rested himself against the back of the sofa looking up to the ceiling. So this was what real love felt like. After all, from falling for Molly as well as knowing Betty for all those years he was already aware that love wasn’t about how beautiful your partner was or how great they were in bed. Those were the bonuses once the simple stuff was there already in place. It was about sacrifice and compromise, about feeling their pain with them when they were upset or their heart was breaking, it was about joining in with the celebration when they had achieved something outstanding. It was about being a friend and he was now even more determined to see his plans through than ever before, even if she said ‘no’ he knew he had to at least try. But first he had to get through tonight without taking anything away from Betty. It was going to be her night; she had worked hard for it and deserved it.  
  
He got up from the sofa and moved through into the bathroom, pulling the t-shirt over his head and throwing it onto the vanity whilst putting on the water for a shower. He quickly undressed and doused himself under the fine needle spray of the shower, thinking all the while about how he hoped everything would go. After he’d finished, he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist, with another he was towel drying his hair as he sat down on the edge of the bed and took the ring box from out of the drawer in the nightstand. He opened the lid, the brilliant cut of the diamond radiating an intense sparkle as he picked it up out of the box and rolled it around between his thumb and index finger. “I hope you like this?” He knew in his heart that she would, she definitely wasn’t one of the Amanda Tannen-Sommers’ or Sophia Reyes’ of the world.  
  
Replacing the ring he pulled out his next gift for her, a necklace, bracelet and earrings of white gold set with rough cut sapphires and diamonds in the shape of flowers and butterflies. He had seen them on the Christie’s auction website and after placing the winning bid he had picked them up that morning from their central London location. He just hoped that she wouldn’t think they were too much and would never wear them.  
  
Taking the suit cover from out of the wardrobe he proceeded to get dressed in his charcoal grey suit, white shirt and steel grey tie. Checking himself out in the mirror he adjusted his hair slightly before deciding that he’d do.  
  
He picked up his black woollen coat and left his room, walking down the corridor and knocking at the next one. His mother opened the door, stunning in a midnight blue satin floor length dress, the neck scooped wide and a diamond chocker around her throat. She adjusted his tie for him whilst he put on his coat. “You look enchanting, mom. Shame Clive isn’t here to see this.”  
  
“Actually, he’s meeting me after the ceremony seeing as you’re not staying.” She picked up the black stole and hung it around her shoulders. “I don’t fancy my chances if I don’t have someone there to look out for me.”  
  
Daniel smiled, “you know I’d stay …”  
  
“But it’s part of the plan to keep her keen,” she touched her nose with her finger. “Daniel, I get it, ok?”  
  
“Thanks. Are you set?”  
  
“Let me just get my bag and I’ll be with you.”  
  
As they headed down to the waiting Jaguar XJ, Claire held tightly onto Daniel’s arm, “are you nervous?” She asked.  
  
He shook his head, “surprisingly, no. I guess this is just the next step for us so I don’t see that as being a problem.”  
  
“But Betty might.”  
  
“I don’t think so. Besides tonight is just like a meet and greet, I’ll make sure she knows I’m there and once she finishes her acceptance speech, I’ll go.”  
  
“She’ll follow you.”  
  
“I’m counting on that. Help me out though it she doesn’t?”  
  
Claire smiled, “I’ve got your back, Daniel. Anything to see you two happy.”  
  
He covered the hand she still had on his arm with his own, stroking the soft skin. “I know we’ve been through some rough patches, especially last year with Tyler and Hartley, but I’m glad that you’re my mom. I don’t tell you often enough how much your love and support means to me.”  
  
“But I know, Daniel, a mother always does.”  
  
He chuckled, “you and your intuition, huh?”  
  
“Something like that. I just hope you remember it too when you and Betty start your family. There will be times when only Betty will truly understand what is going on with her kids; it’s that unique bond that every mother has with her children. Mind you, thankfully, you haven’t turned into your father. I believe you’ll be a very hands on dad, which I know Betty will definitely appreciate.”  
  
“Thanks.”  
  
“By the way, how are the arrangements coming along?”  
  
“I’ve just got a couple of things to sort out but I’m nearly there.”  
  
“Well, you know where I am if you need me.” The car was slowing down to a stop in front of the Victoria and Albert Museum, “I think we’re here.”  
  
Daniel got out of the car and went around helping his mother get out. She smoothed her dress over her hips before taking his arm once more and walking up the white stone steps of the grand entrance and into the foyer. They were shown through to the left and down the corridor towards the Raphael gallery at the end. “Well at least I won’t be able to make a very quick escape” Daniel mused as they passed several exhibition rooms.  
  
“No, that will help if I need to kick Betty out in order to follow you,” Claire colluded. Her heels clicking against the marble floors, as they walked passed stone and intricately carved wood facings along the corridor, all manner of pictures, sculptures and glass cases lined the walls. When they finally reached the end of the corridor they were granted access into the large marble gallery where round tables had been set up around the room, with a stage at one end and a bar sat to their right. “Darling, you get us some drinks and I’ll make myself known to Lindsey.” She wandered off towards the very top end of the room.  
  
Daniel stopped by the bar, “an orange juice with soda and a scotch on the rocks, please?” The bar tender proceeded to pour the drinks whilst Daniel look around for Betty. She had to be here somewhere, it was nearly half seven as it was. The awards ceremony was due to start at any minute. He thanked the bar tender before picking up the drinks and seeking out his mother and he quickly found her talking animatedly with Lindsey and his wife. Handing over his mother’s drink he stuck his free hand out to greet Lindsey. “Good evening, Mr Dunne.”  
  
Lindsey took his hand and shook it heartily. “Good evening, Mr Meade. Please let me introduce you to my wife, Patricia.”  
  
“Good evening, Mrs Dunne.” He took her hand and kissed the back of it, her cheeks reddened with the attention but Lindsey was completely oblivious.  
  
“Your mother and I were talking about the judging this year.”  
  
"Yes, some of the awards were tough to decide, the nominees were all very good.”  
  
“Not least my own star player.”  
  
“Be careful, Lindsey,” Claire said, “I’m planning on taking her back at some point in the future.”  
  
“Well, Claire. I’m sure that Betty will make the right decisions when she needs to but for the moment I think she’s fairly stuck on staying with ‘The Capital’ in some regard.”  
  
“And I should think so too, she’s created a wonderful magazine for you. I just can’t personally wait for subscriptions to become available in America.”  
  
“It’s happening in the next few months, I’ll get Betty to email you when it does.”  
  
“Thank you,” Claire smiled just as the host asked the audience to take their seats. They moved across to their allocated table, Claire sitting between a portly man who worked at a Sunday broadsheet and an old timer who had long since retired but constantly relayed stories from when he worked on Fleet Street. Daniel was on the opposite side of the table stuck next to the Features Editor of the free Streetstyle magazine that was given out across the city on Fridays and, presently, an empty seat. He did a quick head survey, Betty still hadn’t shown. Perhaps nerves had got the better of her and she was in the bathroom trying to stop herself from freaking out. Or perhaps she’d been snowed in in Scotland although he doubted that as he knew his mother hadn’t received any calls from Christina to say that had happened. Or perhaps she’d just decided to not turn up.  
  
He sipped on his scotch, attempting to get drawn into Miss Streetstyle’s conversation but he found it uninteresting and somewhat narcissistic, she got the hint and moved on to the next sap sat to her right. Daniel looked around him wondering if the last person to join their table had arrived yet. He searched the doorway, the entrance to the toilets even the bar and then he saw a lone figure graciously tiptoeing towards the tables. He looked forward trying to motion to his mother but she was far too interested in what portly broadsheet had to say.  
  
In the semi darkness, she tripped on a chair leg, he closed his eyes as she breathed out her apology and then she was there at her seat, pulling the grey chiffon wrap from around her shoulders and pulling out her chair. He stood up, helping her to seat herself before taking his chair next to her.  _This can’t be happening._ “Oh, hi Claire,” she said across the table before she turned to her now seated neighbour. “Thank you.”  
  
He turned to face her. “Hi, Betty.”

.oOo.

Having caught the sleeper train down from Edinburgh, Betty was feeling less than great. She’d hardly slept a wink with all the noise of the rails beneath the trains wheels, the motion as it went around corners and the couple in the carriage next to her who were obviously still celebrating their Christmas. And now with the awards ceremony fast approaching she was experiencing a crash of massive proportions. She needed sleep and she needed it fast.  
  
She crawled into bed, setting the alarm for four o’clock and hoping that it would give her enough time to get herself ready for her big night. When the alarm went off, she hit the snooze button forgetting that her stupid alarm had a three strikes and you’re out functionality. After her third snooze she wasn’t reminded again to wake up so when she finally roused at six she began to panic. However, she had one consolation; she’d made a reservation in a local guest house to the event. If she hurried she’d be able to get there on time-ish as she only had a five minute walk.  
  
She showered quickly, dried her hair even quicker and piled it on top of her head in a quick updo that her sister had shown her, it was Hilda’s ‘simple stylish beehive in just five minutes’ and her YouTube video had over sixty thousand hits the last time Betty had checked it out. She found some bobby pins that had pearl type adornments and pushed then in around the edge to add a bit of a feature. Next was her make-up and she had both Christina and Amanda to thank for the quick smoky eyes and the natural pout that they had shown her how to do in the back of a cab. Thankfully she was walking so no make-up faux-pas had to be rectified the other end.  
  
Already dressed in her underwear and stockings she zipped open the dress cover to reveal the dress that Christina had made for Betty on this special night. The silver grey pleated organza was ruched around her waist and bodice, the skirt falling in an A-line to her knee with several layers of tulle helping to keep the skirt fluffy. From the bodice two straps snaked their way across her chest and over the tops of her arms in a dropped shoulder position. They fastened onto the back of the bodice before being tied together at the centre back and the two lengths of fabric dropping towards the hem. She finished off her outfit with a pair of grey suede heels that matched the colour of the dress precisely.  
  
She gave herself the once over before taking a picture for her family and Christina. Picking up the wrap that Claire had given her for Christmas she fastening it around her shoulders. The fabric was soft and light and its steel grey colour matched her outfit. It was adorned with silver beading and translucent sequins as well as metallic embroidered threads and it kept her surprisingly warm.  
  
Looking at her watch she realised that if she didn’t go now she’d be late. She picked up her purse and gloves and walked the short distance to the museum. The doors were closed by the time she got there but was able to attract the attention of the guard who gave her access once he was convinced she was who she said she was. She hurried down the corridor, taking her shoes off for the final part of her journey as she didn’t want people to hear her running and be awakened to her late arrival. Putting her shoes back on she tiptoed into the room, asked the waiter where she was supposed to be sat and tripped on a chair leg that she couldn’t see in the semi darkness of her surroundings.  
  
Apologizing, she quickly got herself together in order to make sure she was seated before any of the ceremony had actually begun. She took off her wrap and hung it over the back of her chair then proceeded to pull it out. The gentleman sitting next to her got up and helped her, pushing the chair towards the table before retaking his seat but she’d spotted a friend on the opposite side of the table. “Oh, hi Claire.” She waved to Mrs Meade who smiled warmly back. As she settled herself she thanked the man on her right for his kindness.  
  
He turned towards her, his ever so familiar blue eyes meeting hers before he searched her face. “Hi Betty.”  
  
Her heart flipped at the merest mention of her name, his voice rasping over the word as if she was the most precious thing in the world. “Hi,” she finally managed. “I … er … wasn’t sure if you’d be here.” She gulped back the lump that was stuck in her throat before picking up the water glass and knocking it back.  
  
Daniel chuckled, “that was mine.” He motioned towards the glass, his eyes dancing.  
  
“Oh sorry,” she waved her hand over her plate and cutlery. “This all gets a bit confusing sometimes.” She knocked over the empty champagne flute with her hand as she retracted it; deftly Daniel managed to save it. “Oh God, I’m a mess.”  
  
“Actually, I think you’re the most beautiful woman in the room.”  
  
“That wasn’t what I meant?”  
  
He smiled, “I know. I was trying to put you at ease.”  
  
She closed her eyes; whilst she was sitting next to him there was absolutely no way she was ever going to be at ease. He was wearing one of her favourite colours on him, or tones if she’d listened to anything Christina had ever told her. Not that she’d ever told him that either. But the dark charcoal and the well sculptured lines gave his body a definition that she shouldn’t really be thinking about at that precise moment. Added to that the crisp white shirt and the steel grey necktie that didn’t exactly make his eyes ‘pop’ but she didn’t care, they always seemed to pop for her whatever he was wearing. She caught his eye, attempting to bite back the nervous chuckle that erupted from within her.  
  
“Are you ok?” He asked, concerning himself with her welfare by taking her empty water glass and filling it.  
  
“It’s the champagne.” She lied.  
  
He bent his head so that his lips were almost touching her ear, “you haven’t had any yet.”  
  
Rubbing her sweaty palms together in her lap she felt a wave of relief when the waiter tuned up with the first course and Daniel had to sit back into his chair. She looked down at the plate; unsure of what it was that had arrived. She’d thought she’d read the menu carefully enough to at least be able to recognise what she was going to eat, but she was unable to ascertain what it was from the small pink and translucent cubes and green foliage that adorned the crockery. “This is magnificent,” the man to her left informed the table. Ok, so it obviously wasn’t going to kill her and it certainly wasn’t snails either. She picked up a fork.  
  
Daniel’s hand clamped down over hers, “that’s the wrong fork, sweetie.” He whispered before smiling encouragingly as he allowed her to drop the first fork she’d picked up and settled her hand over the correct one.  
  
“Thank you,” she garbled, “I feel like pretty woman.”  
  
“I hope I’m not Richard Gere’s character.” He quipped, hoping to balance the mood a little.  
  
“Maybe in another life, but not anymore.” She picked up the first pink cube with her fork and popped it into her mouth. “Oh my God.”  
  
“Do you like it?” Daniel asked.  
  
“Yeah, probably even more if I knew what it was.”  
  
“You read the menu?”  
  
“Yeah,” she nodded, “several weeks ago and at the moment I can barely remember what I did yesterday.”  
  
“Betty, are you sure you’re ok?”  
  
“Daniel, I’m fine. Just a little tired from my trip up to Scotland. I only got back this morning and didn’t get much sleep on the train, mainly thanks to the thin walls and the exuberance of the couple in the next carriage.”  
  
“Oh,” he managed, trying to keep a straight face. “Is that why you were late? Did you fall asleep?”  
  
“Yes, and hit the snooze button three times. When I woke up it had just gone six o’clock.”  
  
“You did well. You look amazingly beautiful.”  
  
“Thanks, but you’ve already told me that.”  
  
He threw his hands up in surrender. “Sorry, I’m just telling it like it is.” He saw her smile, before tentatively picking up one of the translucent cubes. “Champagne and caviar.”  
  
“Sorry?”  
  
“What you’ve just eaten, its champagne and caviar.”  
  
“Oh, I see.” She savoured the taste, “well that really works.”  
  
“It would work better if you had a bit of everything together, that’s the idea with this kind of food. Here.” He picked up a cube of salmon with the champagne and caviar and then added some of the pea shoots and horseradish sauce before offering the fork to Betty. Taking hold of his hand she brought the fork to her mouth and pulled the food from the tines. She noticed him involuntarily gulp, his Adam’s apple bobbing, whilst she chewed the food and swallowed. “See?” He asked nervously.  
  
She nodded her head, smiling. “Yeah.” So he was still as much affected by her as she was by him. That had to be good. “So what are those and that sauce, and why are there flowers on my plate?”  
  
She noticed Daniel let out the breath he had been holding. “The sauce is horseradish, the green bits of vegetation are pea shoots and those flowers are edible.”  
  
“How do you know all this stuff?”  
  
“Betty, I’ve been dining out in some of the best restaurants in the world for years.” He sipped his scotch, before pulling a card out from his left jacket pocket. “Plus I’ve got the menu with me.”  
  
She punched him lightly on the arm. “Ok, Mr Connoisseur. What are we having next?”  
  
“We’ve got elderflower sorbet next.”  
  
“We’ve got a dessert before our main course?”  
  
“Kind of, it’s a French thing. It cleanses and lifts the palette before we get the entrée.”  
  
“Ok, but what’s wrong with water? That cleanses the palette too.”  
  
“You’re not really that comfortable with this are you?”  
  
“How can you tell? It’s just I like my food to be food. This seems a bit too much like theatre to me.”  
  
“Yeah, I know what you mean, give me a burger and fries any day of the week and I’m happy. Or a mole, or empanadas. Or even tamales.”  
  
She eyed him suspiciously, was he making fun of her? “Tamales? Mole?”  
  
“Yep. Is that the present mom bought for you for Christmas?” She searched his face, what was he getting at? “So, our entrée is rack of lamb with pickled walnuts and capers, roasted celeriac, green beans and dauphinois potatoes.” He held her gaze, “you know what they are. You had them Christmas Day.” He added for only Betty to hear.  
  
“Yes,” she finally managed. “You were there?” He nodded. “Why did Claire and Hilda tell me you weren’t?”  
  
“I asked them not to. I didn’t want you to think that mom and I were plotting anything.”  
  
"I wouldn’t have thought that.”  
  
He arched an eyebrow. “Really? I think you forget how well I know you.”  
  
“Ok, maybe a little bit. But you can’t really blame me can you? What with Alexis, Christina, DJ, Philippe to a certain degree, Matt even in some small way. Not to mention your mom, my Papi, Hilda or Justin.”  
  
He smiled as she reeled off pretty much everyone who had got them to this point in time. “Everyone that cares about us. The good times were good though, weren’t they?”  
  
She nodded, “we can just never seem to catch a break.”  
  
“No.”  
  
The host chinked his glass and asked that they start the proceedings of the awards. “Like now, for example.” Betty said under her breath, not wishing anyone else to overhear what she’d said; but Daniel caught it and smiled, clapping his hands as the host introduced the first presenter and the first set of nominees.  
  
About an hour into the proceedings and with the entrée now finished, the dessert was just being served. “What’s this?” She asked Daniel quietly, looking at the range of colours and textures upon her plate.  
  
“Ok,” he pulled the card form his pocket still hiding it from view and read, “its chocolate fondant with pear and aniseed compote and pistachio ice cream.”  
  
“Well it sounds good,” she began by picking up her dessert spoon and fork and cutting into the sponge, the liquid centre oozed out into her ice cream. “I’m going in.”  
  
Daniel shook his head, hoping that she would be careful but this was Betty, the loveable and adorable and sometimes a little bit of a klutz, beautiful woman that he was sat next to.  The next thing she knew Daniel was holding his napkin up to her chin and wiping chocolate from it. “Be careful Betty, for one you’re in a Christina McKinney original that probably wouldn’t wash too well if you dripped something onto it and it will soon be your turn to collect your award.”  
  
“Thank you,” she pushed her plate away.  
  
“What are you doing?”  
  
“I’m not too good with gooey things.”  
  
“Then let me help,” he said, pulling the plate towards him and spooning up some of the dessert for her. He held the spoon over the plate and motioned for her to sit forward. “You just have to find ways to keep damage limitation to a minimum.”  
  
Once again she took his now shaking hand into her own and brought the spoon to her mouth, sucking every last morsel from the silverware as she allowed him to draw the cutlery away from her. “Why are you being so kind to me?”  
  
The host called up the next presenter, “please would you put your hands together for the presenter of the next category, ‘Young International Editor of the Year’. Our presenter is one of New York’s diverse and elite publishers, their flagship magazine ‘Mode’ being one of the top flight fashion magazines in the world. I don’t think any more of an introduction is needed as we welcome Mrs Claire Meade to the stage.”  
  
“Daniel?” Betty needed something from him, anything.  
  
“We need to talk about this Betty, but not tonight ok?” He flustered.  
  
“Thank you all so much for your kind welcome to this wonderful event.” Claire’s voice rang out around the room. “The nominees for ‘Young International Editor of the Year’ are.” A series of photographs came up on the wall behind Claire before she read out the name. “Mr Petr Zarkhov, for his work with ‘The Experiment’.”  
  
“OK, well when?” Betty asked.  
  
Another set of photos came up for a girl that Betty recognised, “Miss Fuyu Kurokawa, for her contribution to ‘Independent Traveller’.”  
  
“What are you doing new year’s eve?” Daniel asked.  
  
A third set came up for a young man that worked on another Dunne publication, “Mr Heinrich Schaefer, for leading the team at ‘Innenstadt’. And finally,” Claire smiled.  
  
“I was going to stand out in the cold at Trafalgar Square and watch the fireworks on the big screens.” She watched her face occupy the screen ahead of them.  
  
“Miss Betty Suarez, for her start-up publication and continued success with ‘The Capital’.” Everyone clapped the four nominees as they rolled some VT footage of them all with some of their most successful stories. Betty’s ran with pictures of her with the magazine she and Hilda had written for her mom, she teared up at that. But Daniel was there to rescue her again holding out his handkerchief for her to take. Then there were several tasteful photos from her time at Mode before some of her best centre spread articles were shown, including the piece she’d written for Wayfarer and Christina when she’d lost Stuart.  
  
Daniel leaned across, “I know I’ve never told you this but I loved that piece you did on Christina, so heart-warming and sympathetic, yet so completely saddening. I’m really proud to know you and consider you my friend, Betty Suarez.”  
  
But she didn’t have time to say answer him as Claire opened the envelope and began to speak again. “I trust that you will all welcome this young person to the stage. She is an inspiration to so many people, myself included and I can only say that I am thrilled to be able to present this award to Betty Suarez.”  
  
Daniel was out of his seat quicker than a jack rabbit, helping her to stand so that she could collect her award. He moved back towards the doorway and his chance to escape, cheering and clapping her as his eyes never left her walking frame. As soon as she’d accepted her award and a hug from Claire she made it to the microphone under the watchful glare of the spotlight. His mouth dropped, in the half light of the room he’d been aware of just how incredibly beautiful she had looked with her hair on top of her head, the subtle make up that she’d applied to her face, the dress that Christina had made for her, which gracefully swished as she walked and considerately clung to her curves. But he’d never imagined that the woman stood up in front of an audience of four hundred people was the same woman that had waltzed into his office nearly six years previously in a Guadalajara poncho. She was outstanding and she took his breath away.  
  
Seeking out the one person that she hoped she could trust, she found him before she started to talk wondering why he was shadowing the entrance to the room. “Thank you. I have a few words that I would like to share with you all, not least my fellow nominees. All of you have been recognised as a talent so please never forget that. This award is very special but I don’t honestly believe that I deserve it any more than anyone of you. All I did was follow my dream, an opportunity arose and I took it.  
  
“All I’ve ever wanted to do since I was a girl was publish my own magazine, I spent four years at Mode cutting my teeth, while writing my own blog and contributing small pieces to various other publications including Mode online. When Mr Dunne and I met, he wanted me to write a fashion column for his New York publication, I turned him down initially. Fashion wasn’t what I wanted to spend my life writing about in all honesty so when he came back to me with his second offer I jumped at the chance to head up a new publication.  
  
“But the truth is, even this isn’t enough. I have come to realise that a dream is exactly what it says on the tin. A dream. I have met so many people over the last eighteen months, people that have inspired me to inspire everyone else. People who have enjoyed great success, people who have endured so much hardship and pain; one of which was shown in the video earlier on. And because of this I intend to take a little bit of a backseat for a while just so that I don’t burn out completely.” She looked over to Lindsey, who nodded and smiled back. She had spent several hours with him on a conference call on Boxing Day deciding on how the magazine should be run. “I’ll still be holding the reigns and overseeing the content, even writing my own headline piece each month, but I’m finally ready to let my baby grow into a toddler and let my new co-editor in chief, Russell Govier take up some of the slack and potty train it.  
  
“This award is really for the magazine, without the people behind me it could never have been the success that it has been nor will it continue to be successful if it doesn’t change its stance a little bit either. This award is also for Dunne Publications, for Mr Dunne’s increasing support and encouragement, right from conception through to labour and birth. This award is for my mentors, who helped me to become the writer that I always wanted to become and from the continued support of my family and friends, who without them I wouldn’t be here today. And this is even for my younger self, the awkward unfashionable twenty something straight out of college who had floundered in her first week at Mode but stuck with it, the butterfly from the caterpillar.”  
  
Her eyes found his once more, his face unreadable with its mixture of emotions. “And finally, this award is for a man that I regretfully left behind to follow my dream. While I don’t regret the move I regret the farewell. I should’ve sought you out instead of just leaving messages; I should’ve tried harder to understand your feelings for me which your mother had indicated to me instead of running away from you. I should never have left without saying a proper goodbye.  
  
“I realise that this isn’t the forum to apologise for any wrong doings that may have caused a relationship to fade in one respect and have it blossom into something else entirely. But without these things I’m not the person that I have become. Without that I could never have written the Christina McKinney piece which I believe is my best piece to date. Without my own loss, I could never have truly felt able to write about Christina’s, without his love for me I could never have understood what it was that Christina had shared with her husband in the very end. That is why this award goes to everyone that has touched my life in some way, however small, because they are the ones that have moulded me into who I am and the kind of editor I want to be.”  
  
She stood down from the podium in raptures of applause and cheering. Claire hugged her fleetingly, “Betty, if you can do just one thing for me you’ll go after Daniel now.”  
  
“Where’s he going?” Her eyes filled with unshed tears.  
  
“Just go, now.”  
  
She did as she was bid, making her way around the edge of the room as conspicuously as she could so that she could quickly escape. Spotting him about halfway along the corridor she took off her shoes and sprinted to catch him up. “Daniel,” she called out, “Daniel, please, wait.” He stopped and turned, his heart still reeling from her public declaration. She was leaning against the back of a bench trying to catch her breath as he walked back towards her. “Where are you going?”  
  
“Betty, this is your night. Not ours. You need to get back in there and network like there’s no tomorrow.”  
  
She smirked as she sat down, “what’s the point in that if there’s not going to be a tomorrow?”  
  
He took a seat next to her. “Good point.” He chuckled. “Will you meet me on New Year’s Eve?”  
  
“New Year’s Eve? I’m going to have to wait another three days and two nights to see you again?”  
  
He nodded, “look Betty, with what you’ve just said in there the next couple of days are going to be a bit of a blur for you. Take it from me and all the times I ended up on page six.”  
  
“But you enjoyed that.”  
  
“Not all of the time.” He took her hand in his. “Just meet me on the Prince Albert Bridge about seven? If we leave it any later than that my driver insists we won’t get back into town for something to eat. That’s if you want to have dinner with me and celebrate New Year together. We can even stand around in the cold for half an hour in Trafalgar Square to watch the fireworks if you want.”  
  
“Ok, I’ll meet you there, about seven.” Daniel nodded.  
  
They both turned in the direction of the footsteps that were now close to them. It was Lindsey. “Betty, there are a lot of people that want to talk with you.” He said excitedly.  
  
“I told you,” Daniel whispered close to her ear, “go get ‘em.”  
  
She turned back quickly to Daniel, grazing the briefest of kisses over his lips. “I love you.”  
  
He smiled, watching her put her shoes back on and walk back down the corridor with Lindsey. “And I love you, Betty. See you Saturday.”


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16  
  
Daniel had been absolutely right when he’d said that the days would go by in a blur, the amount of interviews that Lindsey had fitted her into were incredible not least the ten minute spot she received on the ten o’clock news the night after the event. The papers had all been buzzing and hash tag bettysacceptancespeech had ranked in the top ten since the first tweet had been sent out late Wednesday night. Someone had even shot some footage and it was playing on YouTube with close to five hundred thousand hits already and nearly two and a half thousand comments. She had to laugh though, when she’d been told about it by a journo from NME she’d had to look it up, only to have the video of her on the bike at the Player shoot as her next choice to watch. She even looked at her blog; the two hundred and thirteen subscribers that followed her regularly had suddenly shot up to, “five thousand, one hundred and twenty seven?” She shook her head, who knew that going viral was a good thing? Footage of her speech had even reached the echelons of Fashion TV, calling it their 'where are they now segment'. ‘ _Tornado girl has finally grown up and got herself g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s’,_ Suzuki St Pierre purred. It seemed that everyone was talking about Betty Suarez which could only give ‘The Capital’ even better exposure.  
  
And that was only the stuff she knew about. Justin had been constantly texting her about coping with the price of fame and what she should and shouldn’t been seen doing when she was out. She’d called him at that point, “Justin, I’m not Daniel.”  
  
“I know AB, but you know what the papers are like? They’ll pick up on anything and run with it.”  
  
“Not that I’ll be reading any of it, or even doing anything that will cause any kind of speculation. I’m far too busy working.” She thought she’d heard a woman talking with a British accent and the sudden beeps as a door slid shut sounding just like he was on the Underground. “Where are you Justin?”  
  
“Austin and I are on our way to Times Square, we’ve got tickets for Jersey Boys.” He seemed to say a little bit too quickly. “Aunt Betty, just be careful if you’re going out tomorrow, ok?”  
  
“Ok, I will. Love you Justin.”  
  
“Love you too. See you soon.”  _See you soon?_ Her planned trip wasn’t for at least another two months. So how was that soon?  
  
Whilst she was waiting for her cinnamon bagel to toast, she sipped her coffee wondering what to do with herself. If only Christina had been home, perhaps they could’ve gone shopping, not that the idea of going on her own wasn’t appealing. She could really let her hair down in the lingerie shops for a change, taking her time to pick out the perfect items for her date with Daniel, suddenly hoping that the South Bank fireworks weren’t the only ones that were going to go off tonight. If she was with Christina she wouldn’t get the kind of alone time she needed as Christina would invariably make her go for something that was a little bit over the top and certainly not to Betty’s taste; not that she couldn’t help thinking that Daniel would probably like to see her in something a little more risqué at some point in their relationship. “But not tonight.”  
  
She smeared the cream cheese over each side of the halved bagel and started to munch her way through it. She wondered what else she could buy; after all she had three months worth of sales bonuses eating a huge hole in her pocket. Maybe she could check out Vivienne Westwood, she’d seen a dress that she’d fallen in love with in the autumn winter preview of British Mode, and there was a Michael Kors jumper that would be perfect to keep out the chill that night. “Along with Daniel’s arms,” she grinned.  
  
But was she reading too much into things, he’d said they’d needed to talk. He hadn’t said anything about picking up things from where they’d left off. But on the other hand, he hadn’t pulled away from her kiss either when she’d left him on Wednesday. “Ok, so I’m going shopping and I’m definitely visiting the lingerie shops.”  
  
The biting chill of the wind caught her full in the face as she pulled the door to her apartment building closed. She pulled her scarf tighter and fastened another button on her coat before hailing a cab, for the first time in her life she could seriously afford to get around without having to use public transport so decided she was going to make use of it to her best advantage. As she got into the back she called to the driver, “New Bond Street, please.”  
  
The driver set off and she was soon whizzing through parts of London she’d never seen before as she would usually be underneath it all in a hot and sticky train carriage with far too many other passengers for close company. She passed by high rise apartments both new and old, streets of Georgian town and mansion houses that were mostly sublet as flats and studios, the odd road of back to back terraces. Each in their own individual neighbourhood with their own individual needs. London was so diverse and she loved it, could she definitely see herself living in two places? “As long as I’m with Daniel, I don’t care where I am,” she told herself.  
  
After paying the cabbie she got out of the taxi and began wondering which way she should go first. She went north west finding her way up to South Molton Street and the boutiques that littered the street, among them were two lingerie shops and she decided she’d try these two first. As she walked on she noticed two familiar figures coming out of the shop she was just about to go into. “I hope she’ll like what we’ve bought for her?” She heard Alexis say.  
  
“Of course she will, it’s exactly to her taste,” Claire scolded as they walked up towards Oxford Street. Quickly, Betty strolled across the road and into the shop. “Hi, I really need to buy some underwear but I was just wondering about the two blonde American women that were just in here, what did they buy?”  
  
“It was bridal lingerie, I’ll show you.” The assistant took her up a flight of stairs towards the back of the shop where there was a bridal selection. She picked up a hanger from one of the racks upon which hung an ivory satin basque and thong set, the basque was covered in the most intricate, self-coloured embroidered flowers with translucent sequins that picked up the light. “It’s beautiful. How much is it?”  
  
“Two hundred and seventy five pounds.”  
  
“Wow,” Betty was too afraid to touch the fabric. “That’s a little out of my range,” she said disappointedly.  
  
The assistant replaced the hanger before holding out her hand for Betty to take. Betty took it, “well a lot of this stuff here is just too good to wear for any other occasion.” The assistant confided.  
  
“But if I’d spent that much on it I’d want to keep wearing it again and again,”  
  
“I know what you mean, but here look, this is probably a bit better on cost for you.” She took Betty to another part of the shop where there were rows and rows of bras in differing designs and colours. She spent quite some time going through the different bra types, deciding on what kind of look she wanted. The assistant then helped her pick out several new bras with a variety of different types of panty to go with them.  
  
With her new underwear purchased, she walked back to New Bond Street and began picking her way through the designer shops and boutiques finally ending up on Conduit Street where both Michael Kors and Vivienne Westwood were situated. She had fun looking through the racks of clothing, trying on the garments she’d fallen in love with as well as other pieces too. If she wasn’t careful she’d be spending every last penny of her bonus but she had already decided that she could afford to spend the lion’s share, she rarely treated herself to anything this special and these would be pieces that would stay in her wardrobe for years. She even took a look through the footwear for some new boots.  
  
Her stomach rumbled as she came out of the last shop reminding herself that it would probably be a good point to stop what she was doing and eat something. Knowing that if she carried on in a straight line she would eventually join Regent’s Street she took the pavement east, smiling to herself; she’d made some pretty shrewd purchasing decisions, now she just hoped they passed muster with her nephew when she finally saw him again.  
  
Two men crossed the road in front of her from Saville Row, both carrying suit bags. Not unusual in itself as if you wanted a bespoke suit, Saville Row was one of the places to go. But one of them looked strangely familiar, “Daniel?” she whispered to herself, as the other man turned in profile. From where she was stood watching them she figured he could definitely be Philippe. They walked on in front of her before coming to a stop at the junction.  
  
She watched on as Daniel began to wave and soon two more people joined them, “Marc and Amanda?” Things were definitely starting to get a bit weird. First it had sounded as if Justin was in London, then she’d spotted Claire and Alexis Meade coming out of the lingerie boutique with bridal underwear for an unknown woman. She’d then seen Daniel and Philippe coming out of Saville Row with a bespoke suit each and now Marc and Amanda were in town too? She had to speak to someone about this before she got completely carried away.  
  
After finding somewhere suitable to eat, she ordered a chicken Caesar salad and a bottle of sparkling water from the waiter. Picking up her phone she dialled, “Christina?”  
  
 _“Hi Betty. Are you ok? You sound a bit distressed.”_  
  
“Um, I feel like I’m caught in some kind of alternate universe at the moment.”  
  
 _“You know you shouldn’t eat cheese before you go to bed.”_  
  
“Christina,” she laughed, “no that’s not it. Just far too many weird coincidences this morning.”  
  
 _“Like what?”_  
  
“Well, when I was on the phone to Justin yesterday it sounded like he was on the tube.”  
  
 _“You mean the subway, Betty.”_  
  
“No, the tube. As in the London Underground. Then I was up in South Molton Street.”  
  
 _“Were you shopping without me?”_  
  
“Sort of.”  
  
 _“What did you get?”_  
  
“A new dress from Vivienne Westwood’s, a skirt for work from DKNY, and a lovely jumper and boots from Michael Kors. Oh and some new lingerie. Wait, I was telling you about my weird encounters.” She could hear some distinct voices in the background, sounding like Bobby and Papi. “Where are you?”  
  
 _“I’m having my hair done, and jealous that you got all those things without me. I want to see them all when I see you next.”_ It sounded like she was trying to cover something. She heard another voice, was that Claire Meade? What was going on?  _“So, you were saying.”_  
  
“I nearly ran into Claire and Alexis in South Molton Street, they’d just come out of one of the lingerie shops up there.”  
  
 _“Which one?”_  
  
She looked at the bag she had come out of the same store with. “Aubade. Look does it matter?” Betty sighed, “so they’ve bought some bridal underwear and it’s not for either one of them. Once I’ve done my shopping I’m walking back up to Regent’s Street to get something to eat and I see Philippe and Daniel with suit carriers. So I follow them a little way and they only meet up with Marc and Amanda.” She stopped to catch her breath and to thank the waiter as he placed her food down in front of her. “So what do you think?”  
  
 _“I think your paranoid about your date tonight and your seeing things you shouldn’t be everywhere you go.”_  
  
Or there could be another possibility. “Daniel could just be meeting with me later on to tell me he’s met someone else and is getting married.” She said sadly.  
  
 _“Don’t be ridiculous, Betty. Everything you told me about your seeing him on Wednesday only confirms to me that he is very much in love with you.”_  
  
“It is possible to love two people at once and I’ve hardly been model girlfriend material recently.”  
  
 _“Betty, get that notion out of your head right now.”_  
  
“I can’t, I’m going to call him.”  
  
 _“And say what, exactly?”_  
  
“I don’t know, I’ll just have to think of something.”  
  
From what Betty could tell, everything had gone strangely quiet at Christina’s end.  _“Betty, what about all that talk and bravado about fighting for him?”_ Betty closed her eyes, thinking back to Wednesday and all that had transpired. Had she been reading too much into it or could she fight one more time.  _“Betty, love?”_  
  
“You’re right; I need to fight for what I want. And what I want is Daniel. Regardless of what he wants to talk to me about I owe it to myself to give it one last shot.”  
  
It was almost as if Christina sighed in relief.  _“That’s the Betty I know and love. Go get your man.”_  
  
“Thanks Christina, I will. Speak soon, yeah?”  
  
 _“Yeah, I’m back next Tuesday if you fancy meeting up and trudging around a few sales.”_  
  
“Ok, I’ll talk to you soon.” She clicked the end call button as her phone buzzed in her hand, she’d received a text.  _‘Can’t wait to see you later. Don’t forget, seven pm, Albert Bridge. All my love, Daniel xx.’_  She was definitely being paranoid.

.oOo.

She spent the rest of the day in her local spa, having all the necessary waxing and threading treatments along with a French polish manicure and pedicure, before going home and getting ready for her big date. The last time that they had met like this she had initiated their first kiss. She’d also harassed him into taking her to his bed but that had all fallen prey to one of those cruel twists of fate that had kept them apart ever since. But tonight she was determined that it wasn’t going to happen again, she was determined that she was going to get Daniel, she’d play dirty if she had to just so long as they could finally be together.  
  
She showered, quickly drying her hair and brushing it through until it shone. She applied some of her expensive vanilla moisturiser to every last inch of her skin before grabbing the lingerie she’d decided upon wearing and slipping into them, the delicate raspberry coloured lace looked incredible against her olive skin and didn’t leave much to the imagination. Ordinarily she would never have chosen anything like them but she loved how the expensive lace felt against her skin and hoped that Daniel would be just as thrilled by the items as she was.  
  
She dressed quickly, finding a black t-shirt and her dark denim leggings and put them on before pulling her new Michael Kors jumper over her head and zipped up the knee length boots. She applied her usual amount of make-up, brushed her hair once more, and pulled on some cerise gloves, a hat and scarf in the same fabric and her beloved raspberry woollen coat. By the time her cab arrived to pick her up she had begun to wonder if what she was doing was a good idea or not. But one look at Daniel’s text again and she knew this was her moment, it was now or never.  
  
The cab drive seemed to take forever and when they got there the driver said that he wasn’t actually allowed to stop on the bridge, so she paid the man and got out by the entrance to the gardens. She looked around her, checking her watch for the time, she was already ten minutes late and where would he be? On the bridge she supposed.  
  
She started to walk up towards the Victorian construction, realising why Daniel had chosen this bridge in particular, it brought back so many good memories of their night that had ended up on Brooklyn Bridge. They’d never been there since, not the two of them together. A five o’clock morning meeting had never been appropriate or forthcoming. If only they’d done it at least once. But, she thought, perhaps this was Daniel’s way of setting things straight. If he too had missed the fact that they’d never shared that view together again, perhaps this was a little gesture for them both to share in a similar situation. She’d always had a romantic notion of being kissed on the Brooklyn Bridge, perhaps Daniel was going to set that straight for her too.  
  
Spotting him leaning against the side wall looking back towards the city she quickened her step. “Hey,” she called.  
  
“Hi,” he met her, his arms encircling her and drawing her into his embrace. She could smell his cologne; the rich spicy sent that always made her feel safe, because if she could smell him he would never be too far away. “So what do you think?”  
  
“Of the bridge?” She asked, watching him nod his head and smile. “It’s pretty close,” she took a look up river and smiled, “with a bit of imagination we could be back on the Brooklyn Bridge, couldn’t we?”  
  
“Yeah, but this also holds its own charm too. I miss that we never took the opportunity of meeting up like we said we would.”  
  
She smiled, “we’ve got plenty of time for that.”  
  
“Have we?” She noticed how earnest his expression now was. “I don’t know if we do. Betty … I …”  
  
This was it. This was where Daniel was going to tell her that he’d found someone else, that he was getting married and she’d probably never see him again. She pulled away from him resting her body against the cold metal of the bridge, her hands clamped around the rail. “Please don’t tell me that I’m too late.”  
  
“Too late?” He questioned quietly.  
  
Tears sprung up in her eyes, “yes, too late. Too late in spite of realising that I want you, that I need you and that I never want to leave you. Too late because you’ve found someone else to cherish and love, and they will love you back. Too late because you’re marrying her instead of me.”  
  
He was so close to her that she could feel his warmth through every last stitch of her clothing. “What?”  
  
“Daniel, please just be honest with me. I saw you, earlier on. You and Philippe. You were both walking up from Saville Row with a suit cover each.” A tear dropped onto her cheek.  
  
Daniel wiped it away, but more soon appeared. “Betty, there’s a simple explanation for that.”  
  
“Is there? Because I also saw your mom too, with Alexis. They’d been shopping for bridal lingerie. The girl in the shop showed me the items. I overheard them saying that ‘it was exactly her taste’. So it obviously wasn’t for one of them before you give me some line about Philippe marrying Alexis.”  
  
He stood behind her, his arms around her. His face as close to hers as he could get. She felt tortured, tormented by him even, why couldn’t he just leave her alone. “Sweetie, it’s not what you think.” He bent down placing a kiss on her cheek where tears were still falling. “I love only you, Betty.”  
  
She stood routed to the spot, but let go of the railing and leant back against him, his arms tightening around her waist. “Daniel.”  
  
“Betty, there is no one else,” he whispered, kissing her earlobe, she sighed. “All the things you’ve seen today have happened for a reason. After speaking with my mom and your dad over Christmas I came home with a plan to get you back into my life once and for all. I hoped that you would at least still want to try but your acceptance speech the other night, well it blew me away. I never realised just how much you loved me until you told me on Wednesday and three hundred and ninety nine other people as well I hasten to add.” She started to giggle; he loosened his grip so that she could turn in his arms. “Betty, I told you over a year ago when we were both still at Mode that I can’t live without you, and it’s true. I can’t. I love you with every fibre of my being.”  
  
“You do?” She finally managed; he merely nodded before closing the distance between them and taking her mouth with his. Her arms snaked around his neck as their kiss grew hungrier. He pulled away, “Daniel?”  
  
He smiled. “There’s something I have to find out first, Betty.”  
  
Betty marvelled at the boyish look on his face. “What?”  
  
He looked down at their now joined hands, how they seemed to fit so perfectly together. When he finally rested his eyes back on Betty’s she could see a vulnerability, a shyness to his normal bold character when it came to women. “If you’re serious about never wanting to leave me, become my wife.” Her mouth dropped open, “marry me, Betty. Tonight.”  
  
She closed her eyes, unable to take everything in before she opened them again and caught his look. “I know you probably think this is crazy, far too impetuous, even for me,” he shrugged, “but I want this, like I’ve never wanted anything else in my entire life. And before you say anything about moving to London for work or waiting to start a family then I want you to know that I will do whatever you need me to do. I’ve already spoken to Philippe, Alexis and Jay about cutting down on my responsibilities and spending time out of the office by working from home. And home can be anywhere you want it to be, I’ll live anywhere. As long as I’m with you I don’t much care where we are. As for children, well the idea of being an older dad is growing on me especially as my young beautiful wife and my kids will be keeping me young at heart anyway. I kind of got the impression on Wednesday that you’d be wishing to compromise too.” His eyes searched her face, his final plea was a whisper, “please, Betty. Say you will. Say yes.”  
  
She looked away momentarily, her mind working overtime processing everything that he’d just asked of her. First there was a fleeting smile upon her lips, then a larger one, a nod of her head, a sigh, a grin, more nodding. Then she laughed.  
  
“Betty?” Daniel asked incredulously.  
  
Her eyes were alight when she finally centred on his again. “Yes.”  
  
“Yes, you’ll marry me?” She nodded, her smile beaming. “And you’re ok with tonight?”  
  
“I don’t quite know how you’re going to pull it off Meade but yes, I’ll marry you, tonight.”  
  
“Need I remind you that you managed to sort out a wedding for me and Molly in a matter of hours, I’ve only had a couple of days but I learnt from the best. Everything is ready to go.”  
  
“What if I’d said no?”  
  
“No, wasn’t an option.” He grinned, “I’d have got you one way or another.” He called the driver to come and pick them up.  
  
“Is there anything I need to do?”  
  
“Just show up at the alter in about an hour.”  
  
He pulled open the door of the Bentley and helped Betty in, “but what about the dress, hair, flowers?”  
  
Once in the back of the car himself, Daniel grabbed her and pulled her close, his mouth crashing down onto hers. “Stop, for once in your life just stop. Everyone has helped me, everything is ready. All I need you to do is get dressed. Oh and wear this.” He pulled out the familiar blue of a Tiffany’s box from a bag on the backseat of the car and passed it over to Betty, allowing her to take the black velvet ring box out and open it up. Her eyes grew wide with wonder at the beauty of the ring. “Is it too plain?”  
  
“No,” she smiled up at him, “it’s perfect.”  
  
He hugged her, before allowing her to sit back against his shoulder. “It’s inscribed.”  
  
Extracting the ring from the carrier she peered at the inside circumference. “Make my happiness – I will make yours.” She whispered.  
  
She handed him the ring, allowing him to take her left hand, “it’s from …”  
  
“Jane Eyre,” she finished, as he placed the engagement ring on her finger. “Just after Rochester has asked Jane to marry him the first time around and she has accepted him.”  
  
“It just conveyed what I wanted to say.”  
  
“It’s so beautiful and thoughtful, in every way. Thank you.”  
  
“No, thank you, Betty. For saying yes.”  
  
As they pulled up outside the Corinthia Hotel, Daniel helped Betty out of the car and pulled her as close to him as he could before walking them through the crowds of people already beginning to gather for the fireworks. “So we couldn’t get more carried away with the venue then?” She teased him.  
  
“It was this or some pokey hovel in Paddington. And you would not believe what I, or rather Alexis, had to do to get this. Let’s just say that Philippe is a very trusting man.”  
  
“Right.”  
  
He stopped suddenly, looking at her with such intensity that she found it hard to breath, “Betty, are you completely sure that you want this? I mean once we’re hitched you’re never going to be able to get rid of me.”  
  
She smiled, “Daniel, I have never been surer about anything in my life. You were right, as usual, I do want more and I did hope that you’d be able to read between the lines of my acceptance speech the way that I did with your last Mode editor’s letter. Since our first kiss, which I can now admit wasn’t in Salcombe; I have wanted to be yours so badly. It’s just that with everything that happened over the summer, Stuart’s death, Christina’s baby, you in hospital, I’ve just been so confused that I didn’t really know who I was anymore and I was substituting the only thing that mattered with other peoples families because you and I just couldn’t seem to get it together. As soon as I understood what the one thing I had been craving since I moved to London was, well that’s when I realised how much of a fool I’d been. Family is the most important thing, not a job or a house, but people you care about, people you love and who love you back regardless of whether you wake up in a mess, or you put your jumper on back to front or your hair is wild and you wear braces, glasses and a Guadalajara poncho on your first day at work.” He smiled, “I love you Daniel and I want to become a part of your family so that we together can start our own branch.”  
  
He grinned, his hands finding their way to the nape of her neck before kissing her thoroughly. The crowd that was still milling around them cheered in delight as other’s shouted encouraging comments as well as lewd suggestions. When they parted, breathless, he whispered, “shall we do this?”  
  
Betty giggled as she nodded her head, “in the words of my beloved sister, ‘let’s do this bitch’.”  
  
Daniel laughed before kissing her one last time. When they pulled apart they were no longer alone. “Daniel, darling, we really need to get things rolling.” Claire said diplomatically as Hilda began tugging at her sister’s arm.  
  
“Yeah, Daniel. Do you realise how long it’s going to take to get Betty sorted out?”  
  
“Thanks Hilda, it’s not like you’re going to have to do too much with me.”  
  
“Betty, I didn’t mean you don’t look beautiful. You always do these days but we got hair to fry and a face to paint. It takes time.”  
  
“OK, ok, I’m coming.” She kissed him quickly on the cheek. “So I’ll be seeing you soon then?”  
  
“Yep, I’ll be waiting for you.”  
  
She was hurried away by both Claire and Hilda, “I tell you, men do not appreciate what it takes to do all of this.” Hilda said as the three got into the elevator. Daniel waved to her as the doors closed, what had she let herself in for?  
  
“You’re right on the money, Hilda,” Claire said, winking at Betty. “But we’ve already got a good start.”  
  
“I suppose,” Hilda turned her attention to Betty, “now how do you want your hair, up or down?”  
  
“I don’t know,” Betty answered, “It’s not like I’ve put a lot of thought into this. Did Daniel not suggest anything?”  
  
“No, no, no.” Hilda wagged her finger as she shook her head.  
  
“Actually he said something to me about her look being simple but elegant; he suggested using some of the flowers that were used in the bouquet.” Claire said.  
  
“Hmm, we’ve got Christina’s slides too. Betty, how about half and half?”  
  
“Hilda, I’m easy. I haven’t got a clue what you’re going on about but I guess you’ll make it look absolutely stunning.”  
  
Leaving the elevator they turned left and then went in through a door that took them into the hallway of a suite. “Talking of which, Amanda will want to know how you want your make-up doing?”  
  
Betty shook her head, not only overwhelmed by the conversation but the suite as well. “I guess she’ll know what to do, I’ll leave that to her.” They walked through into a bedroom. “Christina? Amanda? Alexis? Everybody’s here then?”  
  
Christina hugged her friend, “you won’t believe what Daniel has managed to do for you in such a short space of time.”  
  
“You were all here, earlier on when I phoned you.”  
  
Christina nodded, “aye, I nearly killed your father for talking too loud. It was a good job Claire came back when she did otherwise the game would’ve been up ages ago.”  
  
“So the text from Daniel?”  
  
Claire owned up to that one. “I called him and asked him to do something to put your mind at rest.”  
  
“And the underwear?”  
  
Alexis handed her the box, “for you Betty.”  
  
“I got the girl to show me what you’d bought,” she opened the box, folding back the tissue paper and pulling out the basque. “When I saw it, I wanted it so much. But it’s so expensive.”  
  
“And it will be so worth it,” Amanda added.  
  
Claire grabbed Amanda’s hand and ushered everyone but Hilda out. “We’ll leave you in peace for a few minutes. Change into the underwear and let Hilda start your hair, then Amanda can do your make up, ok?”  
  
Betty merely nodded to the retreating troops. She stood stock still until Hilda brought her into one of her hugs. “Betty, I’m so happy for you. Daniel loves you so much, you know?”  
  
Betty nodded. “I don’t deserve all of this.”  
  
“What? Of course you do? You have always put everyone above yourself. All of these people are here to give you something back for everything you have done for them. They are all so happy that you’ve finally decided to settle down with the love of your life and they wanted to be a part of it.” Hilda kissed Betty’s cheek. “Now go and get into that underwear before I drag you into that bathroom and do it for you.”  
  
“Thanks Hilda.”  
  
Hilda smiled as Betty picked up the items and made her way into the bathroom. So it wasn’t going to be the raspberry bra and panties tonight after all, but what she had now was so much better. She did up the hook and eyes on the front of the basque adjusting the cups slightly so that she felt secure within it. Then she changed into the thong before taking a look at herself in the full length mirror. “Wow.” She smiled at her reflection, if she thought she looked good then Daniel might blow a gasket. “I hope he likes this,” she smiled in anticipation.  
  
Walking back into the bedroom, Hilda eyed the underwear. “I gotta say, Betty, it looks better on. You know you’re gonna blow his mind, right?”  
  
Betty bit her lip, this was all so real. She walked to the bed and sat on the edge. “Hilda, tonight, it will be the first time for us.”  
  
“Get outta here.” Hilda remarked as she took Betty’s left foot into her lap and started to roll a stocking up her leg.  
  
“I’m serious. We’ve only kissed really.”  
  
Hilda looked up, finding her next words were difficult. Then she smiled. “Oh my God, he really loves you.” She was so serious it made Betty laugh. “It’s kinda cute actually. All those faceless, nameless women he bedded and for you he waited. I like my prospective brother-in-law a lot more now.”  
  
Once both stockings had been put on and Betty had fumbled with the suspenders, she put on a robe and went and sat at the dressing table where Hilda was set up to go with a curling wand and plenty of grips. She pulled the sides of Betty’s hair up to the crown of her head and clipped it in place, winding some of the hair up into curls and pinning them in place also. Then, with curling wand in hand, she waved the strands loosely down the back before taking the two Victorian silver and pearl combs that Christina had lent her, something old and borrowed, and fastening them around the crown. She then found some small flower buds and wove them into Betty’s hair. “Thanks Hilda.” She said as Hilda walked to the door and asked the next person to come in.  
  
It was Amanda. “Oh Betty, you look beautiful already but I’m going to ruin your beautiful face and change it for mine.” Amanda said as she took out her kit and transformed Betty’s original au natural make-up for a face that could grace any catwalk. The smokey eyes that now looked back at her certainly made her eyes pop. She giggled at the thought,  _“which one of these shirts would make my eyes pop_ ”. Thank God he’d never married Sophia.  
  
“Amanda, I look beautiful, thanks.”  
  
“Ah, you have great skin Betty. And this cheek definition is to die for. With no glasses or braces I didn’t need to do too much.” Amanda smile warmly. “OK, you’ll do. Let’s get you dressed.” She walked over to the door, opening it up. “Ok, we need the dressers.”  
  
Christina, Claire and Alexis came in, and as Christina went to get the dress, Alexis helped Betty get into her satin and pearl adorned shoes, pulling the delicate strap through the tiny golden buckle. “This is your dress, Betty. I hope you like it,” Christina smiled.  
  
“Have any of you seen this?”  
  
“No,” Claire said, “this is the first time for all of us.”  
  
Claire and Christina rolled the dress up and stood over Betty before lowering it gently into place. “Christina, it’s beautiful,” Alexis managed, as Christina pulled up the zip and closed the button at the nape of Betty’s neck.  
  
Christina smiled, “Aye, it will do.” She held on to Betty’s hand as she walked her over to the full length mirror by the wardrobe.  
  
Betty gasped, the ivory, empire line, satin and chiffon dress was absolutely amazing. The bodice had been cut so that spaghetti straps were concealed under the seam of the chiffon overlay which had capped sleeves set into it. Just underneath her bust line were rows and rows of pearls about two inches wide, matching the rows attached to her shoes. The skirt was full, gathered into the high waist and left to fall to the floor, chiffon over satin and a short train had been created at the back. She turned slightly so that she could see the back. “All those buttons,” she said as she noticed the line of buttons that started at her lower back and continued down past her hips.  
  
“They cover a zip opening,” Christina said. Betty smiled, that would help later on. She noticed that there was a button at the very top but then the chiffon billowed slightly with the curve of her back so that there was a small amount of her skin on show. “There has to be a feature on the back of the dress when that’s what we’ll be looking at for twenty minutes.”  
  
“Oh, Christina,” she hugged her friend. “This is absolutely incredible and so what I would pick. Thank you.”  
  
“Hey, don’t cry.” Christina soothed. “Amanda will not be happy if you ruin her work.”  
  
“No, I won’t,” Amanda stated before softening, “Betty you look so beautiful. Daniel is going to die when he sees you.”  
  
“I hope not,” Claire smirked. “Let the poor girl get at least one night out of him first.”  
  
Betty turned to Claire. “What do you think?”  
  
“I think there is something missing.” She opened the box that she had been keeping safe, “Betty, Daniel wanted you to have these, a something blue maybe?”  
  
Betty stared at the jewellery, her hand tentatively ghosting over the precious stones. “Sapphires and diamonds.”  
  
“I told him that they may be too much but given the circumstances I think he would at least like you to try them on, even if you decide not to wear them in the end.”  
  
“Would you help me?”  
  
“Of course dear.” Claire carefully pulled out the necklace before fastening it around Betty’s neck; the bracelet was fastened around her right wrist.  
  
Betty managed the earrings by herself before checking out her appearance once more, her hand reaching up to the necklace at her throat. Was it wrong that these expensive jewels felt so right to wear? There were people in the world who could barely afford to eat and she was wearing something that could save so many lives at the drop of a hat. But it was for one night she reasoned.  
  
Claire had drawn closer to her as Betty had inspected herself closely. “You can always sell them on afterwards.”  
  
Betty grinned, “or it may be one of those things I might have to compromise on.”  
  
Claire laughed, “yes, maybe. Daniel will be thrilled that you’re wearing them though.”  
  
“In that case then, I’d best not take them off again tonight.” She took a deep breath and let it out. “Ok, I think I’m ready. What happens now?”


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: This chapter contains mature content

To say that Daniel was nervous would’ve been an understatement but as he sat with Philippe awaiting the arrival of his bride he was truly petrified. In the few days it had taken him, his mother and everyone else they’d called upon to help them with the preparations he had been cool and level headed, his normal businesslike self. But this, this was overwhelming. Never in his life had he been so scared of things going wrong in the eleventh hour. Philippe rested his hand on Daniel’s shoulders, “you ‘ave pulled it off, Daniel. She will be ‘ere soon and I ‘ave the rings all safe.” He patted his breast pocket.  
  
He looked back towards Philippe, his face slightly anxious. “I’m not worried about that, I’m not even worried about Betty, I know she’ll show.” He looked towards the back of the seats, “it’s him I’m worried about. Until Betty and I are actually exchanging our vows, I won’t be completely happy.”  
  
“And ‘oo is that?”  
  
“Matt Hartley.” Daniel turned back to his friend, “he and Betty were seeing one another for a while. I don’t even know how he found out about this? Unless Tyler mentioned it to him.”  
  
“Daniel, ‘ave a little faith, I’m sure ‘e doesn’t want to ruin things for you? Look at ‘im, not a man possessed, non?” Philippe watched Daniel shrug.  
  
Daniel looked back again, noticing a sudden flurry of chiffon and lace as all of the women that had been upstairs with Betty, bar Hilda, were now taking their seats. Alexis shot a look towards Daniel as soon as she noticed Matt and decided to go and have a ‘chat’ with him. Daniel turned back to Philippe and smiled, “thank God for my sister.”  
  
Philippe grinned and patted Daniel’s back as they both got up to stand, “oui, she can be very formidable at times if she needs to be. Let’s just ‘ope this is one of them.”  
  
Getting up from his seat, Daniel found his spot before the makeshift altar and fixed his tie; he pulled at the hem of his cuffs and smoothed the jacket down over his hips before settling into position to await Betty’s imminent arrival. As his eyes travelled up the aisle to the double doors at the end of the room he stopped breathing, a lump forming in his throat as he patiently waited. And then she was there in the doorway in the most stunning ivory dress that he’d ever seen her wear, her hair wavy as it swathed over a shoulder, the blue and white gems of her jewellery gently winking as she moved slowly towards him, holding tightly onto Ignacio’s arm. Hilda steadily sauntered up the aisle before them after fixing Betty’s train. It was as if it was just the two of them, each of them holding the gaze of the other as Van Morrison’s voice soulfully sang out.  
  
 _I’ve been travelling a hard road, Looking for someone exactly like you,_  
 _I’ve been carrying my heavy load, Waiting for the light to come shining through.  
Someone like you makes it all worthwhile  
Someone like you keeps me satisfied._  
 _Someone exactly like you._  
  
Not once did her eyes waver away from his, and he took heart from that, it meant that she hadn’t seen Matt anyway, and as she got halfway to meeting him, she began to smile, her eyes dancing in the moment.  
  
 _I’ve been all around the world, Marching to the beat of a different drum.  
But just lately I have realised, The best is yet to come._  
  
“Hi,” she whispered as soon as she arrived, Hilda fussing with Betty’s bouquet and Ignacio gently passing his daughter’s hand to Daniel.  
  
“Hey,” he smiled, “you look incredible.”  
  
Her smile was amazingly bright, wide and infectious, “I’m glad you’re wearing charcoal, it’s my favourite.” The pink tinge to her cheeks betraying her embarrassment at her statement but it soon faded as the registrar took his place in front of the couple and welcomed the guests.  
  
“We are here this evening to celebrate the union of this happy couple in marriage. However, I firstly have to ask; if any person present knows of any lawful impediment to this marriage, they should declare it now.” The registrar waited for what seemed like hours. Daniel’s hand began to shake as his mind mentally asked that there be one person in particular who would stay quiet; he and Betty had been through enough, he just wanted one thing to be simple.  
  
“Are you ok?” Betty asked him, bringing him out of his reverie.  
  
He looked down to her expectant eyes and smiled just as the registrar had finally decided they had been tortured long enough. “I’m great, now,” he said, bringing her small soft hand to his lips and kissing the back of it. This was really happening.  
  
They exchanged contracts and declarations, “now both Daniel and Betty will exchange a ring as a symbol of their love.” The registrar began; Philippe had fished out the rings from his pocket and handed them to the registrar. “They have both written their own vows for this exchange.”  
  
Betty’s eyes suddenly went wide, “it’s ok,” Daniel said, “everyone helped to write yours.” He handed her a piece of paper and she quickly read through it. Ok, so it wasn’t exactly what she’d say under normal circumstances. She smiled; she’d think of something, she was a writer after all. She held onto the paper in her right hand as Daniel cradled her left in his right. The registrar handed him the smaller of the two plain platinum rings and asked him to place the ring on her finger.  
  
Daniel cleared his throat and began. “Betty, you are not just my best friend but you are the love of my life. Without you, I would still be the selfish, egotistical and extremely damaged creature that I once was and would never have learned from the mistakes that I was making. Without you, I could never have hoped to become the man that I am today. I love you Beatriz Uriana with all of my heart,” his eyes met hers, she was smiling but a single tear escaped over her cheek. He brushed it away gently with his thumb, “I promise to keep you safe, provide for you and our family, and adore and cherish you for the rest of ours days. Make my happiness, I will make yours.”  
  
“I will” she whispered. They exchanged hands, her left hand now holding onto the ring she was to give him, her mind racing from the beautiful words that he had just spoken to her. She could do this; she didn’t need the piece of paper that was now screwed up in her right hand as it tentatively held his left. She placed the ring on his finger before looking up towards him and winking. “Daniel, I know that you don’t believe in such things but I feel it, you are my soul mate. We are two beings that were destined to be together, trapped in perpetual hiatus until we found one another and realised that we needed to form a permanent union. I love you with everything that I am; no one that knows us would ever doubt the love that we share because it’s not just you and me that feel it, everyone around us does as well.” She smiled up to him, her eyes twinkling, “without you forgiving my selfish and uncompromising attitude of late, I may have turned into someone I didn’t much like, an ugly interloper. Without your patience, I would have lost the love of the only man I have ever truly desired. Daniel, my heart is yours forever and I promise to encourage you, respect you and trust you always as we cherish the equality in our relationship together and as a family, we will create a loving home filled with our children’s laughter and happiness. Make my happiness, I will make yours.”  
  
For the first time in his life, Daniel really understood what it was to be loved. “I will.”  
  
There was hardly a dry eye in the house as the registrar led them, Ignacio and Philippe over to the marriage register and asked them all to sign it along with the marriage certificate that was then handed over to Daniel, he tucked it away into his inside pocket, this was it, they had finally done it. Once they were led back to their original places the registrar spoke up, “Daniel and Betty have exchanged contracts, declarations, rings and vows in front of their chosen witnesses. It is now my pleasure to give you Mr and Mrs Meade, Daniel you may kiss your bride.”  
  
It had seemed like forever since Betty had been dragged away from him in order for her transformation into his blushing bride and now he was able to show the world just how much she meant to him. His arms snaked around her waist, pulling her as close to him as was humanly possible. He bent his head towards her, “Hi, Mrs Meade, do you mind if I kiss you in front of all these people.” She shook her head; her grin spreading the width of her face as he gently captured her mouth with his. She gave into him completely, a small moan emitting from her throat as he deepened the kiss. He became aware of rapturous applause and cheering, suddenly remembering that they still had a few formalities to take care of before he could take this any further. He pulled away gently, noticing their fiery embrace had pinked her cheeks and swollen her lips.  
  
He held his arm out for her to take, enjoying the feel of her small hand tucking itself into the crook of his elbow. Hilda passed back the bouquet, all smiles. “Shall we?” He whispered, she nodded as they walked side by side as husband and wife out through the same doors that Betty had walked through as a single woman not less than twenty minutes before.  
  
As they were ushered through into the room for the wedding breakfast, Daniel felt her stop short and gasp, “it’s beautiful. You’ve thought of everything.”  
  
“Well, I had some help,” he confessed, “there’s no way I could’ve done all of this on my own.”  
  
“Daniel, we still have to work on you selling yourself short a little, don’t we?” She smirked.  
  
He pulled her into his embrace, “we must.” He chuckled. “Although credit where credits due, mom and Hilda have been great. How are we doing so far?”  
  
“The dress is beautiful; you didn’t see it before me did you?”  
  
He shook his head, “Christina has had it under lock and key, besides she only finished it this morning before she came over. But I have to be honest, you look amazing in it.”  
  
She smiled at that. “I also dread to think how much money I’m actually wearing in jewellery. Not only these,” she brought up her left hand and watched how the diamond caught the light, “but also these.” Her hand went up to her throat. “I’m reluctant to take them off because I want to get the wear out of them.”  
  
That made him laugh, “Betty, they’re probably not worth as much as you may think they are. I’m not made of money. Not like some people I could mention.”  
  
“Right. About that, was Matt actually invited?”  
  
“I guess Tyler must have said something.”  
  
“And that’s why you were shaking when the registrar asked if there was anyone in the room that could stop us from getting married.”  
  
He nodded, “I know I shouldn’t have let him get to me but I just couldn’t help myself.”  
  
“Hmm,” she smiled, “that’s something else we’ll have to work on then isn’t it. You know, you may be surprised at his reason for being here.”  
  
“OK,” he doubted that but he’d agree to anything if it kept that smile on her face. “We’ll see, and I’ll definitely work on the whole hating Matt part thing, soon.” He leant down and caught her mouth with his. “But right now I want to show off my new wife to my guests; does that sound ok with you?”  
  
“That sounds like a great idea.” They positioned themselves by the door and one by one they greeted each of their guests in turn before they were handed a glass of champagne each and had some photographs taken. With the photographer giving the events manager the thumbs up it was time for everyone to take their seats. As soon as Daniel was seated next to Betty on the top table she leant over, “please tell me we’re having real food?”  
  
“It’s all real food, Betty,” he teased.  
  
“You know what I mean.” She hit his arm playfully.  
  
“Hey, you best watch those, I’m counting them up so that later on I can remember how many to give you back.”  
  
“You can’t even remember my birthday, so I don’t rate your chances.” She smirked; he playfully began to squeeze her leg under the table, “although it is sweet that you remember that you’re going to forget my birthday so you always make sure I have my gift well in advance.” She pleaded, in an effort to get him to stop what he was doing as it was making her surprisingly flustered. The squeeze turned into a caress.  
  
“I’m not making you uncomfortable, am I?” It was now his turn to smirk.  
  
“A little,” she confessed, “unless, of course, you want me to come undone in front of everyone here.”  
  
He stopped what he was doing, “I’m sorry, Betty. I just …”  
  
“Daniel, it’s fine, really. I mean I want you to do that just not in front of my dad; it might make him have another heart attack. I guess once we’ve become more accustomed to touching each other then it won’t be such a big problem.”  
  
He looked away from her. “We did this too soon.”  
  
Betty’s hand skimmed his face, bringing it around to face her. “No, we didn’t, I’m so ready to embark on my life as Mrs Daniel Meade. If I hadn’t been I would never have agreed to do this. Did my vows not tell you anything? My acceptance speech the other night even?”  
  
“Hmm, I suppose the practice signatures were also a clue. Have you decided on whether it will be Mrs Betty Suarez Meade or even Beatriz Uriana Meade yet?”  
  
That earnt him another punch. “Wait, how did you know?” He pulled out the bits of paper from his inside pocket that he’d found in the stocking. Her eyes lit up. “Justin. I might have known.” She looked over to where her family were sitting. “I love my nephew but sometimes I just want to kill him.” She handed them back to Daniel. “Have you read them yet?”  
  
“I’ve seen the signatures, of course.”  
  
“Naturally,” she sighed.  
  
“And I’ve read the letter. I haven’t read any of your journal, I’m not sure whether I should or not, I don’t want to pry on your private thoughts.”  
  
She smiled, “knock yourself out; they’re much the same as the letter. A bit of self-loathing …”  
  
“Self-loathing? Betty, your self-esteem appears to have some issues, perhaps that’s something we can start working on tonight?” He asked suggestively, a finger travelling up her arm bringing up goose pimples.  
  
“Perhaps,” She grabbed his hand and held onto it, it was the safest choice for the moment. “But I really need you to stop, it’s not like we can run off to the supply closet of even Fey’s love dungeon.”  
  
He sat back in his chair, his face shining from the revelation. “Whoa, wait a minute? Fey’s love dungeon?”  
  
“Keep your voice down,” Betty whispered, “and seriously? You have no idea what I’m talking about?”  
  
“Er, no.”  
  
“It’s behind the closet, by the shoe racks, there’s a hook that opens the door.”  
  
“And you know about this because?”  
  
“Christina showed it to me. Apparently you dad used to go and meet Fey in there.” Betty made a face when she thought of some of the stuff that was in there. “There was some really freaky stuff in that place.”  
  
“Like what,” he asked, intrigued by the faces she was making, “on second thoughts, don’t tell me.”  
  
But Betty couldn’t help herself, “well there was a whip, handcuffs, a mask.”  
  
“Well that just killed the mood.”  
  
She grinned, “making you uncomfortable am I? There were even some costumes in there not dissimilar to that one you made me wear during my first week at mode.”  
  
“What, that leather hot pants suit with the whole cleavage thing going on?” That got his attention back on track, watching her coyly nod her head. Snuggling his nose against her neck he said, “I just want this over with so that I can take you to bed.”  
  
The promise that that one statement elicited saw Betty’s face alight in wonder, he just hoped he could deliver on it. “I love you, Betty.” He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it as the master of ceremonies chinked his glass and the waiters bought out the first course. Asparagus, Serrano ham, quails egg and parmesan shavings.  
  
“Well, at least it’s not gooey and I can tell what it is.”  
  
“That’s a good start then.” He watched her pick up her dinner knife, “am I going to have to do this for you every time?” He chuckled as he covered her hand, got her to drop the larger knife and opt for the smaller one.  
  
“I did that on purpose,” she sniggered, “I just wanted an excuse for you to hold my hand again.” He caught her playful expression.  
  
“You never need an excuse, Betty, not any longer. All you have to do is ask and I’ll hold your hand forever, if that’s what you want.” He noted another tear, his thumb quickly brushing it away. “Why are you crying?”  
  
“Because I’m just so happy, Daniel.”  
  
“So am I,” he said. For the next hour whilst they ate, they chatted like they always used to on their lunches away from the office or the odd dinner that they shared. But this time it was different, this time he would keep brushing away Betty’s errant tears, or push a piece of unruly hair behind her ear, or leave chaste kisses on her lips.  
  
With the departure of the last of the crockery the master of ceremonies chinked his glass once more, “The time is upon us for the first of the speeches, please put your hands together for Mr Ignacio Suarez.”  
  
Ignacio stood up and took hold of the proffered mike. “I count myself very lucky; nearly two years ago I was fortunate to see my eldest daughter married to her childhood sweetheart. Something I never thought I’d see. And in a few months I will welcome my second grandchild into the world. I didn’t think I could be any happier. Until a week ago that was, when this young man finally came and asked me for Betty’s hand, how could I refuse him? When I say finally, well, we were all wondering how long it would take him, and in all fairness to Daniel, I think he only realised he loved my baby girl at Hilda’s wedding, when something Hilda said struck a chord with him. I count myself lucky because not only have I now seen both of my daughters married to very worthy men, I am lucky because I can honestly say that these fine husbands will both do anything for their wives and love them to the end of their days. Welcome to the Suarez family, Daniel. Mijo.”  
  
“Mijo.” Everyone cheered, raising glasses and sipping their wine.  
  
The master of ceremonies took the mike and passed it to Daniel. He stood up and fixed his jacket, clearing his throat before bringing the mike up towards his mouth and began talking, “thank you, Ignacio.” He paused for a moment fixing his gaze on Betty, “when I first met this beautiful woman she was a mess.” He watched Betty’s face twitch. “But then so was I.” From the brilliant smile that had replaced her frown, he could tell that she knew where he was going with this. “We both had our own issues to deal with, I was a party animal never seen with the same woman more than once who hadn’t lost his brother. And Betty was finding her feet, rather awkwardly, not only in a job that I, quite frankly, made up as we went along, but also in her life encountering a first love as well as family heartache. And despite everything that was going on we somehow became friends, leaning on one another for moral support, the shoulder to cry on or to share a moment of laughter with. From friends we became the best of friends and, like Ignacio mentioned, I suddenly realised that I was in love with my best friend at Hilda’s and Bobby’s wedding. I can’t tell you how it happened exactly as I really don’t know, but I do know that I felt like I was crazy. Why would this strong, independent, lovable young woman want anything to do with me? I loved her but I couldn’t tell her. I didn’t want to mess up the one thing that we still had. Our friendship.” He took hold of her hand, “I did some pretty stupid things at that point, things I’m not very proud of before finally following her to London. I even took a chance by telling her how much I loved her in my final letter as Editor in Chief at Mode in the vain hope that she would see it and understand how I felt but the first time Betty saw it was only a few months ago when my mother gave her a copy of the magazine. We’d tried to get it together but we could never seem to catch a break, our lives just didn’t seem to mesh at all and I began to wonder if there was any hope of an ‘us’. I’d thought I’d missed my chance with this incredible woman, thought that the only thing we’d ever be was friends, until Wednesday evening when Betty gave me some hope that what I felt for her might not be such a stretch after all, especially when she let a room full of people know how much she loved me. When we met up on the bridge this evening I truly thought that we were just destined to be nothing more than friends again when she wrongly supposed that some of the things that myself and my family had got up to during the course of today, which had given her the false impression that I was getting married to somebody else. I soon put her right, and as you’re all aware, she became my bride. When she stood with me in front of the registrar this evening, she made me the happiest man in the entire world.” He pulled Betty up to stand with him, his free arm snaking around her waist as he drew her closer. “So, to all of our family and friends, thank you for helping me out with tonight and thank you for being patient with us, it’s been a struggle but we made it. And to my wife,” he pulled her into his embrace, his eyes searching her ever happy face. “Te amo, Betty.” His hand gently drew her chin up before he bent his head and kissed her, the sweet intensity nearly blew him away especially when she responded in kind. This was definitely the best decision he had ever made, together they would be a force to be reckoned with and she was now his, forever. “Would you like to say something?” He asked her as they drew apart.  
  
“I don’t think I could follow that. But I’ll have a go.” He handed her the mike, and whilst she took hold of his hand she tried to think about her opening gambit. “If someone had told me this morning that tonight I’d be a happily married woman, I’d have laughed at them. Equally, had anyone told me on my first day of work at Mode that my boss would fall for me, well I probably wouldn’t have turned up on my second day.” He squeezed her hand encouragingly. “I still can’t quite believe that I married New York’s most eligible bachelor, but I did. Somehow we made it through so much heartache and suffering to get to this place. I can honestly say that I don’t even know where we’re going to end up yet, or even how we’re going to get there, but then that’s the beauty of our relationship; we just take it one day at a time. When Hilda spoke at her wedding she told everyone that she knew she loved Bobby because she would do anything for him and he would do anything for her. She’s right, that is what love is, it’s about being together, about compromising, sometimes even sacrificing things if you know it’s right for you and your future happiness, it just took me a while to recognise it within my own feelings. I can only thank certain people for opening my eyes because they were the ones that helped me find my way. Christina, I’m sorry for substituting your family for my own needs, I love you. Gio, thank God for our chance meeting on bonfire night, you always knew how to tell me like it was and that night was no exception. Papi, Hilda, Bobby and Justin, thanks for just being on the end of the line whenever I needed to chat. Matt, you were a good friend to me the day you left London, thanks. And Claire, you who helped me the most by telling me about your theory and giving me that copy of Mode. Without all of you I wouldn’t be here, and I think that would’ve been the biggest mistake of my life. I love you, Daniel, te amo. Without you I would never have become complete. Thank you.” She was in his arms again, tears silently sliding down her cheeks as she cried into his shoulder.  
  
He handed her his handkerchief, “you’re messing up Amanda’s work, sweetie.”  
  
She prodded at her eyes, “I’m sorry, I just can’t believe we made it.”  
  
“Well, believe it Betty. We’re here.” He took the handkerchief back from her and gently dabbed at the water that lay underneath her lashes. “You might have to pinch me a couple of times during the night though, just to make sure I’m not dreaming all of this up either.”  
  
She giggled, “your wish is my command,” she looked up at him through her downcast lashes.  
  
“Don’t do that,” he warned, “unless you want to miss the rest of the party. We’ve still got our dance and the cake to cut yet.”  
  
“As well as Philippe’s speech,” Betty added and as if on cue Philippe began his speech.  
  
“I would like to thank Daniel for asking me to be ‘is best man. I think perhaps that I may not ‘ave been ‘is first choice but I am thankful for the opportunity to stand up with a man that ‘as become one of my best friends and ‘oo I know will never steal my girlfriend from me.” He took hold of Alexis’ hand and winked at her whilst the guests laughed. “I know that many of you don’t even know ‘oo I am. In truth, sometimes I don’t know either but this man ‘as been there for me when things ‘ave got tough and I am glad that ‘e now ‘as someone that will ‘elp ‘im through the rough times, although she was mainly the cause of most of ‘is. I ‘aven’t known Betty for very long but in the short amount of time I ‘ave ‘ad to get to know ‘er I can see what Daniel’s fascination with ‘er is. She is a remarkable woman, so forgiving and ‘er  ‘eart is one of the biggest that I ‘ave ever come across. It doesn’t matter ‘oo you are or what you do, Betty will always find the best in you and will make you enjoy your life. She is a credit to ‘er family and Daniel is a credit to Betty. ‘E does not function so well when she is missing from ‘is life, so now that they are finally wed, I feel like my own life will now get back on track instead of ‘aving to spend my days listening to the rubbish that was coming out of ‘is mouth at times. When ‘e comes back to work it will be a joy rather than us all wanting to run off and ‘ide because ‘e  ‘is now joined to the one person that could only make ‘im ‘ole. From the words of George Sand,  _Il n'y a qu'un bonheur dans la vie, c'est d'aimer et d'être aimé. Or in other words,_ there is only one ‘appiness in life, to love and be loved. To my friends, may your life together bring you much ‘appiness, good ‘ealth and many children, I believe you will be very blessed.” He raised his glass in a toast, “to Daniel and Betty.”  
  
Glasses all around them chinked, “to Daniel and Betty.”  
  
Daniel raised his glass to Betty’s “to us, sweetie.”  
  
“To us,” she smiled.  
  
The master of ceremonies took up the mike, it is now time for the bride and groom to take to the floor.”  
  
“May I throw you around the floor, Mrs Meade?” Daniel asked, holding his hand out for her to take.  
  
“Of course,” she answered, slipping her hand into his and allowing him to take her out into the centre of the parquet flooring. All eyes were on them as the music began and they swayed happily together in each other’s arms.  
  
 _Oh, her eyes, her eyes make the stars look like they're not shinin', her hair, her hair falls perfectly without her tryin', she's so beautiful, and I tell her every day,_  
  
“Why this song?” Betty asked.  
  
“Were you hoping for something else? I can get them to change it if you want?”  
  
 _Yeah, I know, I know when I compliment her, she won't believe me, and it's so, it's so sad to think that she don't see what I see, but every time she asks me do I look okay? I say,_  
  
“Daniel, relax. I mean the only song we could really call our own would be ‘I’ve got you babe’.” She laughed.  
  
He chuckled, “we weren’t so hot singing that though were we?”  
  
“Well, we were a little drunk.” She caught his eye, “so come on, why this song?”  
  
 _When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change, 'cause you're amazing, just the way you are, and when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while, 'cause girl, you're amazing, just the way you are._  
  
“This song just tells you exactly everything I feel.”  
  
 _Her lips, her lips, I could kiss them all day if she'd let me, her laugh her laugh, she hates but I think it's so sexy, she's so beautiful, and I tell her every day,_  
  
 _Oh, you know, you know, you know I'd never ask you to change, if perfect's what you're searching for, then just stay the same, so don't even bother asking if you look okay, you know I'll say,_  
  
“You wouldn’t want me to change then?”  
  
“No, you’re perfect. You always were, it’s just I was too blind to see it.”  
  
 _When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change, 'cause you're amazing, just the way you are, and when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while, 'cause girl, you're amazing, just the way you are._  
  
She shook her head, “I was a mess.”  
  
“We both were.” He lifted her chin so that she would look him in the eyes. “Betty, we’ve both come a long way, and it’s only going to get better.”  
  
 _The way you are, the way you are, girl, you're amazing, just the way you are,_  
  
“So you’d still love me if I put on twenty pounds, or I had to start wearing my glasses again or if I lost an arm or something.”  
  
“Why, are planning on losing an appendage?”  
  
“No, but things happen.”  
  
“True, I mean I’m not going to stay handsome forever,” he teased, “no doubt I’ll probably be wearing glasses myself soon, being over forty and then there’s the grey hair, or no hair even if it starts to thin out a bit.”  
  
“None of that would make me love you any less.”  
  
“Then don’t expect anything that happens to you to have a different effect on me. I would love you even if you hadn’t changed a thing about your appearance. Betty, the girl I fell in love with is in here,” his hand haloed around her head, as he didn’t want to undo Hilda’s good work. “And in here, sweetie.” He placed his hand over her heart. “I once told you that if I could touch even a small part of your heart, then I’d be happy. Well, I think you’ve given me a small part today.”  
  
She shook her head, her hand lying on top of his. “Be very happy, Daniel. You have my whole heart, you always will.”  
  
 _When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change, 'cause you're amazing, just the way you are, and when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while, 'cause girl, you're amazing, just the way you are, yeah._  
  
He kissed her, his hands smoothing round her shoulders and reaching around her back as hers trailed up his chest and locked around his neck. Momentarily they lost track of where they were until both Claire and Ignacio arrived beside them. “Daniel, do you mind if I cut in and dance with my daughter for a bit?”  
  
Although reluctant to let her go, Daniel allowed Ignacio to lead Betty off, “mom, would you like to dance?”  
  
“Of course I would, anything for just five more minutes with my son, because you know what they say Daniel, a son’s a son until he takes a wife,” she said a little sadly. “Soon, you and Betty will be inseparable and I won’t get a look in.”  
  
“Mom, that’s not true.”  
  
“I’m willing to bet that’s what your father told your grandmother at our wedding.”  
  
“You know that you’ll always be welcome to stay with us, especially when the grandchildren arrive. And Betty adores you.”  
  
“I know, son.” Claire sighed, “it was a wonderful ceremony though. And Betty looks radiant.”  
  
He looked towards her dancing, chatting and laughing with her dad, “doesn’t she. Christina did a fantastic job.”  
  
“Yes she did.” Claire said, “you know, there have been times in my life that if I could’ve changed them I would, things would be different. But when you met Betty it made my job a little bit easier. I’ve always tried to do the right thing by my children, Daniel, I hated to see where you were headed, blowing through your trust fund, taking far too long over your degree, ending up on page six more often than not. And then there was Betty, who just patiently reminded you what it was like to be a good person and, thanks to her, I got my son back. I will never be able to thank her or her family enough for that. Promise me that you’ll look after her and never let her go. Oh and never go to bed on an argument.”  
  
“Mom, I promise.” Daniel hugged her, “I love you.”  
  
“You might not after my next request. Go and talk to Matt. There’s something he wants to say to you and I know Betty would appreciate you’re doing it.” He eyed her suspiciously, “please? Life’s too short for stupidity. You should know that better than anyone.”  
  
"Alright, but after the cake cutting.”  
  
Daniel hugged his mother once more before crossing the room to meet Betty next to the cake. “As is the long held tradition,” the master of ceremonies began, “the bride and groom will cut the cake.” He handed the knife to Betty.  
  
Daniel stood behind her, placing his right hand over hers and together they cut into the chocolate sponge cake that lay underneath the chocolate frosting. The master of ceremonies took over slicing through the first piece, laying it on a plate and handing it to Daniel. Dipping his finger into the frosting he offered it to Betty who innocently sucked it from his finger before she repeated the task with him. It was delicious, and even more so because Betty had fed it to him. He pulled her into his embrace, kissing her and licking the mixture of chocolate and sugar from her lips, she moaned against his mouth. It would take all of his resolve to stop but he had to do it. He drew away, catching his breath as he did, and caressing her face with hands. “Mom wants me to talk to Matt.”  
  
“This should be good,” Betty smirked.  
  
“Hmm, apparently I may be surprised by what he has to say to me, I seem to have been told that twice this evening.” He looked at his watch, eleven twenty. “How about we go and talk to Matt. Have another couple of dances. Make our excuse to leave whilst everyone carries on down here until they drop and then you and I go upstairs so that we can bring the new year in together?”  
  
“That sounds like a great idea, Mr Meade. My, you’re full of them this evening.”  
  
“And long may they continue into the morning, Mrs Meade.” He growled seductively into her ear. He watched her blush for the umpteenth time that evening alone. “Oh, Betty, I wish I could take you upstairs right now.”  
  
“You’ve been wanting to do that since we got here.”  
  
“I know, it’s just the temptation of being able to hold you and kiss you whenever I want to is becoming unbearable.”  
  
She rose up and kissed his cheek, “it won’t be long now. Let’s get this chat with Matt over with and maybe a dance. Then I don’t think anyone would truly mind if we slipped away.”  
  
“I like you’re thinking.” He smiled, “come on let’s get this over with,” he sighed, taking her hand and gently leading her across the floor to where Matt was talking to Tyler and Amanda. “Do you guys mind if we cut in, we’d just like a quick chat with Matt?”  
  
Tyler and Amanda quickly found their way to the chocolate cake, “So, mom says you’ve got something to say to me?” Daniel opened up the conversation.  
  
“Yes, I just wanted to say that I really admire you.”  
  
“I’m sorry.”  
  
“Well, you and I, Daniel we're not so dissimilar. Both born into money, both not really sure what we wanted to do with our lives for a while there but our father’s gave us a leg up regardless, both of us messing around with a very large number of women until Betty came along. And then somehow she changed us. She saw only the good in us helping us to become much better men, eventually. But the truth is you did it way better than I ever could, I still don’t really know what I want to do but at least you seem to have found your calling in life and not only that you got the girl as well. She is something spectacularly special, and she was only really worthy of one man’s love. Yours. The two of you just seem to fit together so well. I know that you’ll look after her and love her forever. So I just wanted to say that there are no hard feelings,” he stuck out his hand, “Betty will always have a piece of my heart but I know I wasn’t the one she was destined to be with. And now that we share a brother I really just want to cut through all the crap and consider you my friend. Do you think we can do that?”  
  
Daniel’s eyes were wide, as his brain tried to fathom out what was going on. He looked at Betty quickly, she was beaming and motioned with her head for him to take Matt’s hand and shake it. Before he really understood what he was doing he took Matt’s hand and shook it. “Friends?”  
  
“Why not? I just want to see Betty happy and it galled me for a while that it was you she wanted but when I watched you both during the ceremony, I knew that you were perfect for one another and I also realised that we really shouldn’t be enemies anymore. Tyler needs both of us to be the brothers that he should’ve had growing up. Perhaps in time it will also mean that you and I could consider being brothers too.”  
  
“Ok Hartley,” Daniel chuckled, “one thing at a time. And seriously, you’re ok about Betty and me?”  
  
“Absolutely.”  
  
“Thank God,” Betty cried out, hanging onto Daniel’s arm. “Can we now please get out of here?”  
  
“Sure, sweetie.” He shook Matt’s hand once more. “If you’ll excuse us Matt, it seems that my wife wants my undivided attention.” He walked over to the mike stand, “hello everyone.” All the guests turned on the spot towards Daniel. “My wife and I would just like to take this opportunity to thank you all for coming and helping us celebrate our wedding with us. You are all welcome to stay as long as you like, the bar is on me and the hotel has a viewing platform where you can all go and watch the fireworks in order to bring in the new year together if you wish. I personally would like to thank everyone that has helped me set this entire wedding up, you have all played your parts extremely well.” He smirked at Betty, “it is time for my wife and I to say goodnight, we very much hope you enjoy the rest of your evening and we’ll see you all again soon.” With that he purposefully strode across the floor towards Betty, picked her up in his arms and began walking towards the exit. Betty was giggling as she threw her bouquet over his shoulder and back towards the guests, catching sight of Amanda beating every other singleton in the room to it. “Who caught it?”  
  
“Amanda,” she sighed into his shoulder, “you can put me down for a bit, you know?”  
  
“I know, but I don’t want to.” He walked them into the waiting elevator. “Would you mind pressing the button?”  
  
She bent down to hit the button for the penthouse. Soon they were riding up through the hotel, “will I need to do the key as well?” He nodded, she fumbled around in his inside pocket inadvertently tickling him.  
  
“They’ll be enough time for that in a minute, missy?”  
  
“Daniel,” she whispered, once she’d freed the key card from his pocket. “If I forget to tell you later, I’ve had a wonderful evening.”  
  
“It’s not over yet, Betty.”  
  
“I know, I just wanted to tell you, that was all.”

“I’ve had a great evening too. And do you want to know the best bit?” She nodded as she inserted the key into the lock. “It was when you agreed to become my wife.” He walked them through the open door and into the suite allowing her to gently put her feet down onto the floor before hanging up the ‘do not disturb’ sign on the handle, closing and then locking the door to the suite. He took her hand and led her through into the living room. Champagne and strawberries had been laid on and there were dozens of cream, pink and yellow roses in vases all around the room; the scent was overwhelming. He picked up the bottle and the champagne flutes that accompanied it and retraced his steps into the hallway, “let’s take this upstairs to the gallery, we’ll see the fireworks better from there.”  
  
He watched her marvel at the chandelier that hung from the ceiling right down the centre of the sweeping spiral staircase that they were now walking up. More flowers adorned the bookcases and shelves in the gallery but these were gerbera daisies of all colours. She picked one out of the fluted vases and held it to her face, smiling. “These are my favourite.”  
  
“I remembered you telling me about them when Henry had got some for you once.” He watched her as she replaced it, whilst he popped the cork from the bottle and began pouring the golden sparkling liquid into the two glasses, handing one over to Betty once she’d turned down the lights in the room and joined him by the French doors. “How are you feeling?”  
  
She turned her head as the bells of Westminster began to chime out their tune signalling that midnight would soon be upon them. “I’m feeling fine. You?”  
  
“A bit nervous actually.”  
  
He thought she’d laugh at him, with all the experience that he’d gained over the years nothing could’ve prepared him for the pressure he felt by wanting to make sure that he did right by Betty. “Nervous? Of showing me how you feel about me?”  
  
“Yes,” he knocked back half of his drink.  
  
“But why?” She took a sip of hers before putting it down on the nearest table. “I’m not going to bite.”  
  
He polished his drink off, placing the glass with Betty’s, “my reputation mainly. I don’t want to mess this up for you.”  
  
“Ok,” she nodded her understanding, “well I’m not worried about your reputation, Daniel. All I want is for you to make love to me.” She smiled, her hand finding its way to his cheek, he leant into her gentle caresses. Big Ben suddenly struck the first chime as the fireworks began flaring up into the night sky. He turned her in his arms so that he was stood behind her, his arms around her waist as her hands found their way on top of his. “Why don’t we just try to take things easy tonight? We’ve got as long as we need.”  
  
“How do you suggest we do that?”  
  
“We could always ask each other what we want.”  
  
“Well, what do you want first?”  
  
“I want my hair taking down and my shoes taking off.”  
  
He led her back to the sofa and allowed her to sit down, she was still able to watch her beloved fireworks whilst he was able to remove her shoes for her and, by the aid of the hallway light, see to take out the grips and slides that had kept her hair in place. When all of the pins had been removed, he gently brushed through her hair with his fingers, delighting in the feel of her silky fine hair against his skin. His fingers brushed the nape of her neck as he gently moved her hair to one side before bending down and kissing the skin. He could hear her exhale sharply in response. “What do you want next?” He was beginning to enjoy this.  
  
She shook her head, “it’s your turn.” Getting up from the sofa and walking around to him.  
  
“Ok, I’d like my jacket and tie taking off.”  
  
“Your wish is my command,” she teased, as she unbuttoned the jacket and slid it from off his shoulders. She placed it over the back of the sofa, before gently tugging the knot of his tie loose, removing the silk from around his neck and placing it with the jacket. “Anything else?”  
  
“Surely it’s your turn again?”  
  
“Not quite, you’ve got a lot more to take off than I have.” She grinned.  
  
“OK,” his eyes danced, “how about shoes and socks then.” It was now his turn to be led around the sofa to sit whilst she knelt in front of him, undid the laces of his black brogues, removed them and gently rolled down the cashmere socks from his feet. He watched her for a while as she studied his feet. “What are you looking at?”  
  
“Is everything about you so perfect?”  
  
“Not everything, as you well know.” He pulled her towards him, “now it must definitely be your turn again.”  
  
She placed a chaste kiss to his lips before getting up. “It had best be my dress next then.”  
  
Standing up, he grabbed her hand and pulled her back into the hallway, “we’d best take this to the bedroom.” He opened the door to the master suite and beckoned her inside. Candle lanterns had been set up on as many surfaces as they could get to so that there was a soft amber glow to the room, rose petals adorned the counterpane on the bed, a small tray of especially created chocolates sat on the nightstand and another bottle of champagne resided in a bucket by the window. It took a little while for them to both adjust to the light level but he was soon behind her once more, moving her hair to one side so that he could undo the button at her neck before travelling down her back to start on the rest. As he tried to open the first he realised that there was a zip, “oh thank God,” he chuckled, “I had visions I was going to be here all night undoing damn buttons.”  
  
Betty giggled, “Christina was obviously aware of the need for speed.”  
  
“Yes,” his hands slid over the back of her basque and then onto the creamy skin and over her shoulder blades. She shuddered slightly, goose pimples caressing her skin like a blaze of fire as soon as his hands had skimmed over. He slid the chiffon over her shoulders and down her arms watching the dress pool around her feet. He picked up her lingerie covered body and held her close to him before stepping over to the bed and sitting her on the edge. “This basque is gorgeous, Betty. You look so beautiful in this.”  
  
“Thank you.” She said, as he bent down to kiss her cheek. He picked up the dress and gently laid it over the plush chair in the corner of the room. “I guess it’s my turn again,” she nodded, her cheeks now burning hot pink from being sat in just her underwear. “Ok, well how about my shirt and my pants?”  
  
She nodded again, getting up from her seat and meeting him where he stood. Her fingers tentatively opened up the buckle of his belt before pulling his shirt from out of the waistband of his pants. She made light work of his cufflinks, dropping them onto the dressing table before slowly opening up the buttons down the front of his shirt and sliding it from his body. She gasped, “Betty, are you ok?”  
  
“I’m fine, it’s just you’re so toned.” She looked shell-shocked. “I mean … I knew that … from before … when you won that race … and you took off the wetsuit …”  
  
He cut her off with a kiss, “well if that’s the reaction I get from you getting a proper look at my chest, I hope the one I get when you see my legs is just as good?” It was now his turn to tease her.  
  
“It’s not your legs I’m worried about,” she informed him, her hands trembling as they pulled down the zip of his pants and smoothed the fabric over his hips allowing them to drop to the floor. He stepped out of them before calmly walking her back to the bed and sitting with her on the edge, holding her in his arms.  
  
“We don’t have to go any further tonight, if you don’t want to.”  
  
She pulled away from him, “you’re giving me an out?”  
  
“If you want it.” He shrugged, knowing it was best not to force anything if she wasn’t quite as ready as she thought she’d be.  
  
“No,” she shook her head. “I’ve been dreaming about this for so long Daniel. Please, make love to me.”  
  
He held her shoulders as he rested his forehead against hers, his eyes shut. Slowly he let out the breath that he had been holding before reaching down and capturing her mouth with his. “I love you, Betty. If you want to stop for any reason then just tell me, ok?”  
  
“Ok.” She whispered, allowing him to plunder her mouth again, their tongues dancing to their own tune as his hands slowly slid down her arms and they fell back onto the bed together. “Daniel? Do you want to take off my stockings next?” She asked.  
  
He shook his head, “I think I’d like them to stay where they are for the minute. Do you trust me, Betty?”  
  
“Yes, with my life.”  
  
“There’s one thing I want to do for you,” he said, his hands now at her waist, his fingers easing down the lacy thong over her hips and down her legs. “So beautiful.” He kissed her as his hand began exploring the soft skin of her upper thighs, the flat of her stomach that he could reach, the bikini trimmed mound and then down to her core. “Betty, are you ok?” He asked.  
  
“Yes,” she groaned as his fingers deftly explored within her. Expertly building up her rhythm he stayed where he was, stealing kisses from her whenever he was able to reach her mouth, watching the excitement build on her face as she arched her back and widened her legs for him, trusting him to look after her, giving him the invitation to take her to the moon on the shockwave that he was providing her with. He could tell she was near, the sudden gasping that emitted from her as she licked her lips to keep her mouth from dehydrating too much, to the wild writhing of her hips as he brought her to climax over his fingers as she cried out his name and arched her back for one last pull. He stroked the hair from her face as her breathing calmed and she finally opened her eyes, those dark chocolate depths were nearly his undoing.  
  
Her arms grabbed him around the neck and pulled him to her. “How was that, sweetie?” He smiled.  
  
“Oh my God, Daniel.” She looked up towards the ceiling before meeting his loving gaze once again. “No-one has ever made me, you know, come like that” She said, trying to hide her embarrassment with an arm over her eyes.  
  
He prised her arm away, holding it above her head. “No-one?” He questioned. “Not even Matt?”  
  
She shook her head. “No-one, Daniel.”  
  
His fears for being able to please her were at least allayed and with those few words his nervousness was put to rest. “Do you want to see if we can do that again? In a combined effort this time.”  
  
Her hand reached up to touch his cheek, “yes, please.” And that was all the encouragement he needed. Kneeling before her he made quick work of her stockings, unsnapping the suspenders and rolling each piece of silk down her legs, kissing the skin that was exposed as each item was removed. He motioned for her to sit back on the bed whilst he removed the hipsters covering his modesty, hoping that he wouldn’t see fear in her eyes as she took in every last part of him, but he didn’t. At first, her wide eyes scanned him intimately but she soon looked up to meet his gaze, smiling as he crawled up the bed to meet her, kneeling between her thighs before dipping down and kissing her again and again, whilst his hands slowly opened up the hook and eyes of the one last piece of fabric they had between them. Once the last hook had popped open they leant up, he removing the basque and allowing her to lie back on the bed whilst he appreciated her olive skin, her larger breasts than those he was normally used to but definitely liked, the dusky rose of her nipples that were tightening before his very eyes and had not even had a chance to touch yet. “Do you like me?” She asked meekly.  
  
“Betty, you’re stunning. I don’t quite know how I’m going to be able to keep my hands off you at times. But I really like.” He kissed her once more, reassuring her with his kiss that he really loved her before placing butterfly kisses down her neck, her sternum and right at the centre of her breast bone. His hands cupped her breasts, his thumbs rubbing tiny circles over each peaked nub before taking each in turn into his mouth, suckling and swirling his tongue around them each in turn.  
  
“Oh, Daniel,” she called out shamelessly, her hands in his hair, willing him to carry on. He felt himself grow harder by the second if it was at all possible, his own excitement accelerating with the more of Betty he explored. She raised her leg as he sank further down the bed and down her body, kissing and suckling on every last inch of her skin, his hands still caressing the hardened peaks of her breasts until it was no longer comfortable for them as he finally reached her juicy core and swollen centre. He allowed her to lean her legs over his shoulders as he laved at her folds, his tongue delving deep within her tasting her honey sweet nectar as it built up within her walls and making him realise she was ready for him.  
  
He crawled back up her body, trailing her nectar over her skin with his lips before reaching her own lips once again and sinking his tongue deep within her mouth, a promise of what was yet to come. He leant up, his eyes searching hers for her acceptance. She smiled, her eyes closing momentarily before opening them to look directly into his. This was the moment they had both been waiting for for so long. He slid his hands underneath her bottom, arching her hips up so that he was better able to position himself at her opening, gently pushing himself into her slowly, inch by delicious inch and then back out again in order for her to become accustomed to him. When he finally sank every last bit of him into her, he stopped, loving the way her velvety walls twitched at the feel of him within her. She was watching him intently, no doubt wondering why he was just holding onto her without moving, coupled as they were. “Daniel?”  
  
“If I move now this is going to be over,” he said. “I just need to calm down a bit, you don’t mind do you?” She shook her head, her cheeks pinking once more from the intimacy that they were now sharing. “I love it when you blush, Betty.”  
  
She blushed even more so he kissed her neck, her face, her mouth, anywhere where he felt it was safe to kiss her before finally feeling ready to carry on. As he pumped faster and harder in and out he realised that he had never felt like this before. Yes he’d slept with countless women, but he could safely say this was the first and only time he’d felt like it really mattered. As he’d said before, even with Molly it had never been this intense and he’d loved Molly very much.  
  
He grabbed Betty’s thighs, encouraging her to circle her legs around his hips as he used his hands to help her meet his rhythm and take him for all he was worth. Never had he got so caught up in what he was doing or even caught up in what his partner was doing than he was with Betty, he could feel her walls tightening and contracting as she was coming for him, her walls encouraging him to take the fall with her. And then they were crying out, his name fell from her lips as he continued to spill his seed into her until he was spent. He collapsed on top of her unable to move for a short time before finally feeling able to roll them both over so that she was on top of him and holding him to her as he receded from within her. “Oh, Betty.”  
  
She leant up, her eyes searching his, “well I think that was the best home run I’ve ever had.” She giggled.  
  
He laughed, “I agree, the best for me too, by a long chalk.” He couldn’t stop himself from smiling as he swept Betty’s hair back behind her ear. “I never thought it could be so passionate, I’m overwhelmed by how good that was.”  
  
“Which just goes to prove that we’re soul mates.” Betty said, “only two people that love each other so much could ever experience what we just have.” She bent down to kiss him “Happy New Year, Mr Meade. “ She quipped.  
  
“And a Happy New Year to you to, Mrs Meade,” his eyes searching hers, before trailing down to look at her lips, sweet and ripe ready for taking again. He hesitated before he leant up, “I love you, Betty, so very much.” He said against her lips before he kissed her again.  
  
“Me too, Daniel. I love you.” Betty managed to say in between all of his kisses.  
  
Somehow he managed to get them both underneath the covers in order to keep them out of the chill that now hung in the air. He began peeling the petals from her back and shoulders. She returned the compliment, sitting with her back against the headboard and her legs casually wrapped around his torso, which he gently caressed with his hands. She encouraged him to come closer to her, he could feel her inspecting the burn on his shoulder dusting the tiny scars with feather light kisses. “They did a great job.”  
  
“Yes, they did. See something about me is different, Are you sure you want to spend the rest of your days overlooking my deficiencies as Rochester would say.”  
  
“There aren’t any deficiencies to overlook, Daniel. You’ll always be my handsome husband whatever happens to you and it will never stop me loving you, in fact I love you more because of how you got it. It also serves to remind me that I nearly lost you that day for good and I don’t ever want to go through that again.”  
  
He turned to face her, “it won’t, ever.” He grabbed her hands in his, kissing them both “I promise you that we will never have to go through anything like that again.”  
  
Her arms snaked around his neck, pulling him towards her for another kiss. “That will do,” she smiled. “Now then Meade, are you ready to make love to your wife again?”  
  
“I think my wife is going to be insatiable,” he teased as he drew her into his embrace, “oh, Betty.”


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

 

It had only just been over a month of marriage when Christina had dragged Betty from their bed to take her off to New York Fashion Week. Daniel had been a little dubious about the arrangement but he needn’t have worried. The lavish gown that Betty had worn was reminiscent of her wedding dress, Christina had obviously used that as inspiration for her New York collection, and the coverage that both women had had since the show, had been amazing. Daniel’s wife and her friend had become quite the celebrities.

 

But he missed her desperately, despite it being only a few days in reality. The fact that he could watch her catwalk strut anytime he wanted to on any of the various fashion newscasts on the web didn’t make it any easier. Nothing could compare to the real thing. Once she’d arrived safely back in the UK, he’d picked Betty up at the airport, congratulating her on her second foray into modelling, a job that he reminded himself he was never cut out to do, whilst nearly kissing the life out of her. He had her back for a week and a half before she was due to go off to Milan.

 

They’d spent that time in London, Betty catching up with the work that she’d missed whilst Daniel spent his time equally between Wayfarer's and making sure Betty ate and slept. Not that her sleeping hindered the insatiable appetite one shared for the other. Quite often he would sit up in bed watching her sleep peacefully for a while before sliding himself against the length of her body, his mouth grazing the skin at her neck, a leg tenderly twisting with hers, whilst his hands roamed her silken body. She’d wake up with a beaming smile every time, turning in his arms and allowing him to take what he needed from her until she was fully awake before she would up the ante and take control in role reversal. She often commented that it was now her turn to ‘be the boss’, not that he minded as it allowed her to be so free with him. He was just happy that he was with this incredible woman and that they were tied together in the happiest of unions for the rest of their lives.

 

After another bout of all consuming, passionate love making, Betty lay down on top of Daniel, her fingers gently swirling through the fine chest hair that was only evident between his pectorals. She smiled wistfully as one of his hands tangled in her hair, sliding over her head before stroking the skin at the back of her neck. “You’re coming to the London show, right?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Daniel said, his other arm supporting his head as he looked down towards her. “You looked stunning in the New York dress; I only wish I’d been there to help you take it off.”

 

She sat up, her legs straddling his lower torso. “I wish you’d been there too,” her smile seductive as she traced a finger down his body from his throat to his belly button.

 

He caught her hand bringing it to his mouth, whilst his other hand found its way to her cheek, gently caressing the velvet smooth skin with the back of his hand. “I can’t wait for these next few weeks to be over so that we can finally have our honeymoon.”

 

She moaned with pleasure, “it’s like we’ve been on one long one since we got married, I’m having to eat bananas and take vitamins every day in order to keep up my strength,” she teased, kissing his fingers as they rested over her mouth.

 

“But we’ve both been working hard, you’ve been jetting off around the world and we only ever seem to have a couple of hours to ourselves.” He pouted.

 

“Which are pretty intense, Daniel. Not to mention highly erotic and passionate.”

 

He grinned. “That’s good to know.” He paused before catching her off guard with the intensity of his gaze. “All I’m saying is that I’ll be glad for us to share three wonderful weeks away from everything, no work, no internet, no phone signal and no interruptions. We’ll be able to seriously take our time finding out so much more about each other. I want to spend every day making love to you slowly, showing you how much I feel about you.”

 

“Daniel, we have the rest of our lives for that.”

 

He shrugged his shoulders, “maybe. But we also need to decide how we’re going to play things. We need to set some ground rules.”

 

“Aren’t we a little late for that?” She giggled.

 

“I just need to know what you truly want from our life together.” She looked confused. “Like, how long you anticipate staying with the magazine, or with Dunne Publications. If you want to start looking for a larger base in London, somewhere that will support a growing family when we feel we’re ready to have a baby.”

 

“But, it’s all important and relevant to you too.” She smiled as she climbed over and off him before resting her back against the headrest of their bed. “The fight that we had when you were in hospital was very one sided on my part, what do _you_ really want?”

 

“To be with you and have a couple of kids, maybe three but we’ll see how we go with one first.”

 

“That’s it? Not to live in Devon and hope to have our first by next spring?”

 

He sat up, turning towards her and taking her hands in his own. “Look, Betty, you’re the one with the career and the dreams, my part in all of that is simple. If you don’t want to move to Devon then we can sell the house, very easily I should imagine. I don’t even have to stay at Wayfarer; I can become a silent partner and find something else to do with my time. And when the first baby arrives I could stay at home and look after him or her.”

 

“No, I don’t want you to give up the house, it’s beautiful there. And I don’t want you to give up your work either. You’re so passionate about it that I’d die if I thought you’d given up your dreams for me.”

 

“I only ever had one dream.” He said, his hands brushing through her hair before resting on her shoulders. “To have you love me.”

 

Her eyes glistened, unshed tears threatening to fall. “Really?” He nodded his head. “Well,” she started, “you already know that Russell has taken quite a bit of my work on.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“He’s taken on most of the logistics, which means that I only really need to be around one or two days a week maybe. I’ll still be doing most of the editing, writing the letter and one piece a month, which may require a little travel but not much, and then giving the final say on the book; I can pretty much do most of my work from home. Meaning that I don’t need a base in London, just a place where maybe we could stay for a couple of nights a week. Dunne Publications has some apartments in Wapping, Lesley has offered one of those to us, we can go and have a look at it tomorrow.”

 

“Are you saying that you want to go to Devon with me?”

 

She nodded, biting her lip. “I loved it there, Daniel. It felt like home.” She moved to sit closer to him, his hands helping her to lean her small frame against his chest as she rested her legs over a thigh, “it would be the perfect place to bring up our children too.”

 

His arms held her close, “and when do you see that happening?” He kissed the top of her head.

 

“Maybe a couple of years. I’ve set up a magazine, I’ve brought it to life but I’m not sure I want that anymore. Not in London anyway. In fact I’ve been talking to Lesley about focusing on doing something similar in Devon, he’s thinking that we could have regional publications and you and I could head up the Westcountry magazine.”

 

He pulled away from her slightly looking into her eyes, “you and me?”

 

“Yeah, we make a great team after all.” She smirked.

 

“Betty, I’m not sure I want to go back into publishing.”

 

“Daniel, it wouldn’t take up any time at all. We would just be the co-editors of a bi-monthly. All we would basically have to do is set up the rest of the team, let them worry about the features and we take it in turns to write the letter and sign off for publication. It would never be as cut and thrust as Mode. More like a day to day jolly, like editing Player.”

 

He laughed. “That’s it?”

 

She nodded, “that’s it. You can still work for Wayfarer and I can still co-edit The Capital until I’m not able to anymore. And in the meantime, we can be each other’s assistants.” She smiled wickedly.

 

With his fingers under her chin, he brought her around to face him. “I like the sound of that.” He kissed her passionately. “Let me think about the other though, could you get me a meeting with Lesley next week when you’re in Milan so that I can discuss it with him? That way I can make a focused decision.”

 

“Ok, I’ll see what I can do tomorrow.”

 

“I’m going to miss you next week.” Daniel said solemnly.

 

“And here I was thinking I was doing a good job distracting you.” She teased, kissing the tip of his nose and resting her forehead against his. “It won’t be long before we’re in Paris and then you and I will be in the Seychelles, honeymooning.”

 

“Yeah,” he whispered, “three weeks of sun, sand and sex.”

 

“And scuba diving, and bike riding, and wind surfing. And hopefully eating and drinking.”

 

She giggled as he began ticking her before rolling her over onto her back and straddling her, her arms pinned above her head as he leant down and captured her mouth with his for another sizzling kiss. “What makes you think I’m going to let you get away from me?”

 

“I’m sure you wouldn’t want me to die of malnutrition and thirst.”

 

“Ok, apart from food and drink. Am I not enough to satisfy your every need?”

 

“Of course, but I would like to see something of the island, even if it’s just from a boat, we can hire them there, you know?”

 

“I suppose we will have to find things to do whilst the staff are changing the bedding and towels.” He chuckled. “I saw that they’ve got a spa, maybe we could have a couple’s massage one day?”

 

“I’d like that.” She smiled, “I think I may need it,” she said as he began stroking his hands over the length of her torso, his lips following in their wake. “Although you’re doing a fantastic job on your own at keeping my stress at bay.” She groaned with pleasure as he trailed hot kisses up her inner thigh.

 

As he started to make love to her he couldn’t help but feel complete. He had everything that he desired right here in his bed, she had made steps to make sure that she was settled into a job that she could move away from when she needed to and it also seemed to him that even if they did hear the patter of tiny feet before she’d anticipated then she wouldn’t be adverse to that idea either. “Betty?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Ok.”

 

“Ok, what?”

 

“Ok about the magazine, I’d love to work with you again. But I do still want to meet with Lesley about it and I think we should go and have a look at the apartment tomorrow or Thursday before your London debut.”

 

She leant up on her elbows, “you want to do this?”

 

He nodded, “but there is one condition.”

 

A perfect eyebrow rose on her beautiful face, “and that is?”

 

“When you find out you’re pregnant you let The Capital job go.”

 

Her smile beamed, “deal.”

 

“Without any hesitation?” He asked fearfully.

 

“Daniel, I said deal. I’ll still be part owner so I’ll be able to tell them what I think about the direction they’re going in but I will step down as Co-editor in chief. I promise you.”

 

“Good, that decision will make the new Co-editor in chief very happy.”

“I’m sure Russell will be thrilled to take over completely.”

 

“I wasn’t talking about Russell.” She eyed him suspiciously, “I was talking about me. Lesley and I spoke about it last week. He felt that after your talk with him that you would want to move further away from your role and wondered if I’d like to help you out until you finally wished to settle down completely. Then I could help keep your vision going.”

 

“Not sure if you want to go back into publishing, eh?” She smirked.

 

“It’s in the blood. Wayfarer will do just fine without me now that Alexis is going to take a bigger part in it with Philippe and they’ll also have Jay to keep them grounded. I’ll be down the road if they need any help and I can still set up the big meetings like I’ve always done but this will give me something that we can share.”

 

“Did you know about the Westcountry edition?”

 

He nodded, “Lesley mentioned it. If you had gone to set up a meeting you’d have already found one pencilled into his diary. We’re going to discuss it next week.”

 

“I feel a little cheated here,” she said.

 

He leant down, “sweetie, don’t. This all came about because of your original discussions with Lesley. He’s adamant that he wants you to stay at Dunne in some capacity, but he also wants you to have a happy home life. He realises that your focus has changed a little. He just wanted me to be aware of that and wondered if I could help out too.”

 

“Did I tell you that I love you?” She smiled as he picked up where he’d left off.

 

“Every day.” He whispered as he trailed kisses along her chin, “And I love you. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you.”

 

“I’m beginning to believe that.” She responded brightly. “Daniel, thank you?”

 

“For what?” He peppered her neck and throat with his mouth.

 

“For asking me to marry you. Saying yes was the best decision I ever made.”

 

The cool cerulean blue of his eyes met her chocolate sparkling gaze as he leant up, his smile warm as he looked at her fondly noticing the goose bumps that were trailing up her arms and over her chest. “The best decision I ever made was apologising to you after making your first week at Mode hell. You’ve seen me at my worst and yet you still found a way to love me.”

 

She snaked her arms up over his chest and around his neck, pulling him closer. “Trust me; with everything we’ve been through, falling in love with you was the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”

 

.oOo.

 

“Lesley thanks for coming as my plus one.” Daniel said, as they finally took their seats at the end of the runway ready for the show to start.

 

“Thank you for asking me.” Lesley said, “I’ve seen some of Christina’s work before but I’ve never been to one of her shows. And to have Betty as the final model, you must be so proud of her.”

 

“I am,” Daniel could feel his eyes begin to sting with pride for his wife. “She never fails to make me honoured to know her. She’s come so far since the moment she crashed into my life nearly six years ago.” His eyes sparkled with the memory of Betty literally running into the conference room doors.

 

“I’m sure there’s a funny story behind that?” Lesley said as he studied the younger man’s face.

 

“Oh there is, maybe I’ll tell you about it someday.”

 

“Well, Daniel, I do consider both you and Betty my friends. It would be lovely if you would both accept my invitation to join the party I’ve arranged for Patricia’s birthday this weekend at our estate in Surrey.”

 

“Er … thank you. I’ll have to speak with Betty first but I think that would be great.”

  
“I’ll email you all of the details. And not that I’m piling on the pressure but I think my wife was rather taken with you at the awards and would love to have at least one dance with you.”

 

Daniel’s eyebrows shot skyward, “she was at my wedding, she could’ve had one then.”

 

“If you don’t mind me saying,” Lesley smiled, “you were rather preoccupied with my best employee.”

 

Daniel coloured as his mind wandered back to his wedding. “Yeah, Betty can be very distracting.”

 

“I don’t doubt that,” Lesley said knowingly. “I’m happy for you both, I go to so many weddings where the bride and groom are just on show for their parents or don’t really understand what their vows actually mean to them; sadly most of those marriages fall apart. Apart from my own marriage, I don’t know any that have lasted any great length of time. But when you and Betty tied the knot I could tell you were both so very much in love with each other and I wasn’t the only one that thought so. You appear to have the kind of love that lasts.”

 

“Thank you. I think everybody else could see it apart from us at first, we were obviously too close to each other to work it out.”

 

“Or you were just both a little afraid that you’d ruin what you had. Patricia and I were best friends before we got it together. Took us a while to sort things out but I do believe that those kind of relationships make for the best long term unions. She may look at younger eye candy such as yourself but I know it’s always me she wants to come home with.”

 

“Don’t you ever get jealous?”

 

Lesley shook his head, “I have no need to. I’ve been married over thirty years and had been friends with Patricia for at least six or seven years already before we were wed. We know each other well enough to realise that neither of us would do anything to harm what we have. She may flirt a little with a younger man; it just keeps me on my toes. So I remind her of why we got together in the first place. I always kiss her and tell her how much I love her and how much she means to me every day. Sometimes it ends up in bed, sometimes we just cuddle. Whatever happens we’re always there together. But I don’t see that happening between you two. You just seem so devoted to one another; after all you did cross the ocean to be with her.”

 

Daniel smiled, “yes, I don’t think we’re in danger of losing any romance but I’ll keep in mind what you’ve told me.”

“Do. You’re still very much in the honeymoon period. Once that blows over you do have to keep working at the day to day grind. You must never take anything for granted and must always make sure that you don’t fall into a routine that you may find difficult to get out of. I still take my wife on dates, even now. When I’m in London working I’ll meet her at a restaurant or a bar, take her to the theatre, whatever she wants to do, and we’ll act as if it’s the first time we’ve met and are getting to know one another again before ending up in a hotel suite for the rest of the evening. When I’m home, I’ll be the one to offer to make dinner or bring her breakfast in bed, something that she’ll appreciate not having to do, or I’d take over some of the kids’ duties when they were little so that she could get some sleep. It’s the little things that keep the passion burning, once you’ve lost that you may as well forget it.”

 

“Thank you for the tips.” Daniel smiled, “I now realise why everything was so exciting with the lifestyle I chose before, although my commitment was to myself and not to someone else.”

 

“Daniel Meade, New York’s most eligible bachelor and notorious playboy is no more?” Lesley joked.

 

“Exactly, but what you’re saying is that in order to keep the magic alive I have to do something different every day with the woman that I love so that we don’t get stuck in a rut.”

 

“Precisely. And look here she is now, doing something so unexpected that I’m sure it’s making your heart beat faster thinking about the prospects once she’s backstage again.”

 

He just nodded his head as he watched her walk down the catwalk towards him, despite the blinding white lights he could see that she knew exactly where he was and was working her body for exactly that reason. He let out a breath that he didn’t realise he was holding, his mouth was so dry he had to keep wetting his palette with saliva, his eyes appreciating the curves of her body that Christina had somehow managed to enhance. He felt sure that if it hadn’t been for the other people in the hall and the fact that she had to go and pull Christina out onto the staging once she’d made her way back up the catwalk away from him, she would’ve strutted down the steps and perched herself in his lap. Lesley had been right, the prospects were endless. He pulled his jacket around his mid-section and buttoned up; making sure that the evidence of his arousal wasn’t on show.

 

When she made her final steps towards him he could see that the cool sage green of the gown that Betty wore, heightened the tone of her skin, the skin that he just so wanted to touch and kiss and lick at that very moment. He wanted to plant kisses around her neck and over her chin before capturing her mouth with his. He noticed the tiny sequins and diamante jewels that were sewn onto the dyed Italian lace conspicuously covering the area over her breasts and down her torso. She wasn’t wearing a bra and there wasn’t any bodice underneath the dress either. His blood pressure rose, was she doing this on purpose? Was Christina? Why was Christina sending his wife down the catwalk half naked?

 

“I have to get back there,” Daniel stood as she strutted back towards the exit in order to bring Christina on, looking back over her shoulder directly at him before returning her head to centre front.

 

“Yes, I think the two of you have something to talk over. By the way, she was enchanting.”

 

“Thank you,” he practically ran from his seat and up to the backstage area showing his pass in order to gain admittance. He waited for her to show her face as the models and Christina piled off the stage. When he saw her he stepped forward, grabbed at her wrist and walked her quickly to one of the ‘dressing rooms’ that had been set up along the back wall. Christina had noticed and followed.

 

“Daniel, you’re hurting me.” Betty squealed before he finally let her go.

 

“What the hell did you think you were doing?” His anger tore through him.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Betty, you’re practically naked.”

 

“What? Wait, no, Daniel,” she shook her head, before standing in front of the mirror that stood in the corner of the space assessing her modicum of dress. “Christina assured me that no one would see my boobs.”

 

“Are you serious?”

 

“Besides, most of the audience are either women or gay.” She reasoned.

 

“I can’t believe you of all people would say that? I was sat next to your boss and let me tell you he wasn’t thinking like either a woman or a gay man would.”

 

Christina popped her head around the curtain, “everything ok in here?” She smiled, hoping to defuse the situation.

 

“Apart from you sending my wife out onto that stage half naked.” Daniel was incredulous.

 

“When did you notice?” Christina asked innocently, as she stepped into the room. Daniel looked around the space, “come on, you can tell me.” She prompted.

 

“When she was close enough to touch.”

 

“And you noticed because?”

 

“For Christ’s sake, Christina. I was editor of a fashion mag for over four years, you think I wouldn’t notice?”

 

“And do you think anyone else in that room was considering that any of Betty’s assets were on show here or that they just loved the way the dress looked on her? Don’t forget I’m trying to run a fashion label, the show has to take some risks so that people will buy my stuff!”

 

“I know, but you had to take risks with Betty?”

 

“If it’s any consolation, Daniel.” Betty stepped closer to him, “I agreed to it. I wanted to do this.”

 

“But why?” His eyes raked over her face, down over her décolletage.

 

“Because I wanted to show the world that I wasn’t Ugly Betty anymore.” She smiled, her hand reaching up to his face as Christina promptly backed out of the room. “You have given me so much, Daniel. I just wanted to give something back, I’m not Betty with the poncho, or tornado girl, or any of those embarrassing things I was. I’m Daniel Meade’s wife, with her curves and her assets on show for the world to see because her husband has shown her that she can be sexy, and wild, and have some self-respect at the same time. She’s confident and she’s in love. And quite honestly, if you were still Editor in Chief at Mode I’d expect you to put me on the cover. As it is, I wish I could’ve been a fly on the wall when Wilhelmina saw me strutting my stuff. But if you don’t want me to do the next shows then I’ll understand. I know Christina will be disappointed but …”

 

They heard a commotion going on in the main backstage area, “get out of my way, fools. You do know who I am?” They both turned their heads in the direction of the voice they knew so well. “Christina that was a fabulous show. Will you give me an exclusive?”

 

“Wilhelmina, I’m not sure that that would be such a good idea.”

 

“Nonsense, I’m not that woman anymore. There are no hard feelings, and besides you don’t think Daniel or Claire would allow me to slate the newest addition to their family would you? Speaking of which where is Mrs Meade?”

 

A few seconds passed before the curtain was flung back and Wilhelmina was stood before them in another perfect ensemble in slate grey. “May I be the …” she looked at Daniel before returning her gaze back to Betty, a Wilhelmina special smile on her lips, “the second person to congratulate you on your catwalk appearance this evening. If I’ve told you once I’m now telling you again. I don’t hate what you’re wearing and you have balls, Betty. I want you on the cover of Mode. I’ll have my people set it up.” And with that she was gone.

 

Daniel looked at Betty, before breaking into a laugh. He hugged her to him, “I love you, Betty Meade. And I’m taking you home or to a hotel room, anywhere so that I can get you out of this dress and finish what you started when you sashayed your body down that catwalk towards me. You are certainly not ugly, Betty. To me you never have been.” His mouth crashed down onto hers, making it plainly obvious where they were headed for the rest of the evening and probably over the next twenty four hours as well. “Christina?” He called out.

 

She popped her head around the curtain. “Yes?”

 

“I think I want to make a long term commitment to your company.”

 

“Oh?”

 

He looked deeply into Betty’s eyes, “I’ll pay you for each one of Betty’s dresses, including the two she hasn’t worn yet for Milan and Paris and any she may wear in the future for you, in exchange for them to come home with us when these shows or any other engagement are over. The only times I ever want to see Betty in any of them after she’s done with them from now on is in a private viewing at home.”

 

“Ok. You have a deal Meade.” She watched as they kissed in front of her before quietly leaving them to it. “This dressing room is off limits until further notice ...” She began.

 

“It’s ok, we’re going.” Betty said, Daniel’s jacket secured around her torso. “I’ll just grab my things and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

 

“Whenever,” Christina smiled, as Daniel held onto Betty’s hand and escorted her from the building.

 

.oOo.

 

Daniel sat patiently waiting for Christina’s Paris show to start, leafing through the show programme. “Well, this is a surprise. Are you here to see Betty triumph again tonight?”

 

Wilhelmina took the seat next to him, with Marc now sat on her right. “Of course, Wilhelmina. I have no doubt that she’ll be a knockout in whatever Christina has dressed her in for tonight?” He snapped, he really didn’t need this.

 

“Touchy aren’t we?” She smirked. “I just meant that with each outfit she wears she just appears to ooze more sex appeal. Milan was outstanding, who knew that Betty could pull off hot pink in a dress that was slit from her neck to her navel and another that ran the length of her leg.”

 

His eyebrows knitted, “what do you want, Wilhelmina?”

 

“I told you last time I saw you both, I want Betty on the cover of Mode. I know I don’t need your approval, but I think that your real model stand from a couple of years ago may have been a bit premature but I think with Christina’s clothes and Betty’s body we could draw more sales. I think that we should rehash it and start over. I’m thinking we could get Jennie Runk and Robyn Lawley. Maybe Betty could be our ambassador.” He sat back in his chair, visibly relaxed. “Don’t tell me you like it?”

 

“Actually I do. I think it’s a great idea, I don’t quite see Betty fitting into it seeing as she is a Meade but I’m happy for you to talk to her about it.”

 

“Well, thank you, Daniel. Obviously a spell away from New York has done you good.” Wilhelmina looked across to him. “You know, I’m still not quite sure why Betty did this?”

 

“Did what, exactly?”

 

“Put herself out there, I mean not only modelling these gowns for Christina but showing herself off in such risqué garments. She looks absolutely stunning, Daniel but after all the buttoned up blouses, pullovers and God awful A-line skirts she used to wear to the office this is such a turn around. She actually has a good body. You don’t mind her showing herself off?”

 

“A little. But I’ve come to realise that just because she’s my wife doesn’t mean that others can’t appreciate her, I get to take her home after all. And if it does some good in the industry, especially if you can help with that, then that’s not a bad thing, is it?”

“Mode will do what it can.”

 

“Good. Besides it’s given her so much confidence, I’d be a fool to stop her doing it. And as I want to see Christina succeed as well then why not let her do this? She’s enjoying herself and she’s happy. That’s all I want for her.”

 

“Daniel, congratulations. It seems that you’ve finally found what it was you were looking for. And I’m very happy for you and Betty. I know we’ve all had our problems but the two of you seem well matched.”

 

“Thank you, Willi. I understand that bridges have been built between you and mom too?”

 

“Yes, we’re getting along. I’ve also realised that I’m getting too old for games and they don’t always pan out the way you expect them to. It’s time for a change. I mean, I still might kill someone if they ever do anything to jeopardise my magazine, so help me God. But, I finally have Connor and my job and I don’t need anything else.”

 

“I’m happy for you.”

 

“Thank you.” Wilhelmina smiled, “so ok I don’t really hate anything yet. I am going to have to persuade Christina to do that exclusive; this is far too good to end up in Elle.”

 

Daniel chuckled; as he listened to Wilhelmina and Marc discuss the clothing lines, shapes, colours, prints and anything else that caught their fancy. All he wanted was to see his wife and take her on honeymoon. He took in a steadying breath knowing that the moment would soon be here for the conclusion of Christina’s final Autumn/Winter show of the season, as the music changed and the drama unfolded he could see Betty stood at the top of a staircase, her back to the crowd. The dark aubergine coloured coat that she was wearing nipped in at all of the right places, the hood that was up over her hair was wide, sticking out about a foot either side of her head, the asymmetric hem glided towards the floor from behind her left knee. He could make out her right leg was dressed in a cream stocking as the limb poked out underneath the hem of the coat, a Louis heeled shoe in the same colour as the coat and of about four inches in height were on her feet. He only hoped that she didn’t do a Naomi Campbell and fall over in them. He didn’t want her first night of their honeymoon to be in a French hospital having her leg plastered.

 

She turned around; her hair had been piled high on her head in a style that could’ve only come from the eighteenth century. A small tiara sat in the top whilst some hair around the sides had been curled into ringlets and left to hang around her neck. She held a mask up to her face as she made her way down the steps, before undoing the two large buttons that held the coat in place, rolling the hood down her back and allowing the fabric to fall away from her shoulders as she took two steps forward. Having felt like his heart had stopped he reached across for Wilhelmina’s hand. “What are you doing?” She whispered harshly.

 

“Sorry, it’s just …”

 

“Daniel, she looks incredible.”

 

He merely nodded. “Yeah.” The neckline of the bodice had been cut to plunge just below her breast bone as the corset hugged around her mid-section. A tattered net skirt rose high at the front before scooping right down at the back. As she walked forward he could just make out a pair of satin shorts whilst satin ribbon bows in a lighter purple colour were tied around the top of each stocking holding them in place. “She looks about ready to burst out of that corset.”

 

Wilhelmina look amused, “and you want that?”

 

“Yeah,” he realised what he’d said before adding. “But not in public.” He held her gaze as Betty moved towards him, smiling only for him. He could see in her eyes that she hoped he would like this outfit and not go off the deep end like he had before. He tore his gaze away to everyone around him, they were clapping and cheering, he was soon on his feet too. “Listen to them Willi, they loved the show.” He joined in, clapping and cheering her on as she turned a mere foot away from him, looked back over her shoulder at him and winked. He grinned back.

 

Wilhelmina stood up, “they do don’t they.” She smiled, yes this is what she needed for the magazine, it was obvious now. Small changes were being mooted and Mode had to be there as the front runner, embracing those changes and making them a positive move for the magazine. It might even get her a raise if she could get circulation up, especially with the new app that they were launching that very month.

 

Daniel excused himself, running around to the backstage in a much happier mood than when he had in London. He picked Christina up, swung her around and kissed her on the cheek. “That was marvellous, Christina. You outdid yourself this time. Wilhelmina is coming right back to speak with you about it.”

 

“Oh, great,” Christina tried to enthuse. “Why?”

 

“Because she wants you and Betty to be ambassadors for her new concept, not that it’s entirely new but just go with it. It’s extremely positive and I think you’ll like it.”

 

“Ok. So, Betty was covered up enough this time for you?”

 

“No,” he shook his head but he smiled and there was a distinct twinkle in his eye, “but she looked beautiful and even though she’s got plenty of admirers I’m the lucky one that gets to go home with her. Thank you, Christina; you’ve made both of us very happy.”

 

“Well, I only did some of it. She has the love of a good man to help with the other bit.” She hugged him, “I have no doubt that you will look after her for the rest of her days. You deserve each other.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

“None needed. Now I know you’re itching to get on your honeymoon so go get her and get out of here.”

 

A little search and he found her in one of the dressing rooms. “I trust you’re not taking anything off.” He said as he closed the door behind him and locked it. “Oh my God.”

 

Coming face to face with Betty in the mirror, his eyes swam over the vision in the mirror before him. “I was a little uncomfortable meeting the president in that other dress, so I thought this would be a better choice. Daniel are you ok?”

 

“You look beautiful,” he broke out in a smile. She had changed into the Milan dress; it was so sophisticated that he had to look twice to make sure he had actually come into the right room.

 

She turned to face him, her hair now poker straight, the Marie Antoinette makeup had been replaced by a fresher more natural look. The hot pink of the gown was accentuated with silver accessories, the thin belt at her waist, and the satin T-bar three inch heels on her feet, the pendulum earrings that he caught a glimpse of when she turned her head or put her hair behind her ear. He noted the slashed neckline that started and ended at the furthest point of each shoulder before sweeping gently to sit just below her neckline where a small silver metallic rectangle had been sewn into each side of the facing in order to keep the left and right front pieces together. Wilhelmina hadn’t been wrong when she’d said that the front was slashed to her navel but Christina had made an adjustment since the show and a flash of silver organza now hung behind the opening; with the opacity of the fabric he knew that she still was unable to wear a bra beneath it, but it no longer bothered him. The skirt fell softly over her hips and her smooth stomach as it hung down towards the floor, a small train running behind her on the floor, the silver lining making an appearance when she moved her legs, the long slit opened up over her left leg but was now modestly finishing on her mid-thigh. “Daniel?”

 

He closed the distance, his kiss electric as they found each other, his hands in her hair, hers criss-crossing over his back in order to try and get a purchase on him as he tipped her backwards and began nibbling at her throat. “Daniel, we have to go.”

 

“Where do we have to go?”

“There’s a small reception, Christina just wanted a bit of moral support. I’d said that we’d stay just for a little while. It’s why she altered this dress. Do you like it?”

 

He nodded, “very much. I’m glad I bought into her label now if she’s going to keep dressing my wife up like this. I can’t wait to peel it off you.” He growled seductively, “you can’t be wearing much underneath.”

 

“Not much at all,” She teased. “But you’re going to have to wait. Just give us thirty minutes and then you can whisk me off to the penthouse suite at the hotel and do whatever you want with me.”

 

“Ok, but you have to tell me what you’ve got on before we go otherwise I’m just going to have to find out by myself, here, now.”

 

“A pink lacy thong.” She said without blushing as she made her way towards the door, before turning to face him again. “I had a wax too.” She smiled as she opened the door and walked out leaving him stood there, speechless, in the open doorway, his mouth a perfect ‘o’.

 

“Oh my God,” he said to himself, as he straightened his tie before following her out of the room, “I’m the luckiest man in the world.”


	19. Chapter 19

_August 2013_  
  
Betty sat cross legged on the sofa in the light green repainted living room of their Salcombe cottage; as soon as Betty had confirmed that she wanted to stay with Daniel in Devon he had had her name added to the deeds. He’d also made sure that she never wanted for anything, a generous amount of money was transferred to her personal bank account each month and although it had initially caused a certain amount of controversy between them, once he’d explained and shown her exactly what he, and ultimately she was worth, she accepted it with good grace. After all, it just wasn’t worth the aggravation and she knew that he had only shown her some of his wealth; the Meade Empire was a completely different kettle of fish and one that he hadn’t yet told her about.  
  
A light breeze ran freely between the open windows, fussing at the wispy bits of her hair that frustratingly wouldn’t stay up in her ponytail. She held a red pen between her teeth as she finalised her editing of her latest The Capital editor’s letter on her laptop. It had, in fact, been Daniel’s job but Betty was adamant that she wanted to do it and she was determined that it be finished in time for lunch so that Daniel could read it before they were due to go out. It was regatta week and this year she and Natalie were determined to beat the boys at the Treasure Hunt.  
  
She printed off what she hoped would be one final copy of the letter, re-read it through quickly and placed it on the coffee table ready for when Daniel was due back. Looking through her emails, she replied to any she felt she needed to. Saved the pieces of research she had done on several schools in the Plymouth area that had been causing problems with their lunchtime meal cutbacks as well as the book review she’d read for a local writer’s third book in a trilogy set on the wilds of Dartmoor before closing down the laptop and taking a well-earned break.  
  
Even within the last six months she had been prone to spending late nights and early mornings finishing off work as Daniel explored new markets for Wayfarer, took over some of Betty’s The Capital work, completed his share of the Westcountry publication and helped Christina set up and market a new line of lingerie that he’d been eager for Betty to model. But things had now calmed down considerably. Both of them had much smaller workloads and it meant that she no longer felt guilty if she left something that she could finish off in a few days. After all, she was now on borrowed time.  
  
She sat back, relaxing into the plush cushions, her head resting on the back of the chair. She’d have to start researching yoga and tai chi classes in the local area and what was it that article had said? Start detoxing at least three months before. Well it was a little late for that but hey; there was no reason that they couldn’t start enjoying a healthier lifestyle even at this point.  
  
And, in truth, this was the life that she really wanted, being able to relax in a comfortable house with all the mod cons that she could possibly want, several beaches on the doorstep and the windswept moors about half an hour away in the car. If she needed to shop she could go to Plymouth or Exeter and if she really needed to go to town then London was only an hour away on the plane. She enjoyed the luxury of not actually having to get herself up every morning and work out what to wear, straighten her dark locks and plaster her face in make-up. Long gone were the days when she’d have to go to bed at nine o’clock in order to be up for five. She could stay in bed all morning if she wanted, dress how she wanted to and wear her glasses if she couldn’t be bothered with sticking her lenses into her eyes. Like this morning for instance. Daniel had left her in bed as he’d needed to go into Wayfarer for a meeting at ten, so she’d got up as soon as he’d left, had a leisurely bath, put on some cotton shorts and a vest top, grabbed a banana and a cup of tea for breakfast and was now wondering what to do with herself until Daniel got home. And that was something else she’d have to remember, no tea or coffee, fruit and herbal teas would have to become the norm, raspberry leaf being the tea of choice.  
  
Her hand absently traced over her abdomen as she picked up the square pillow from the seat next to her and scrunched it up under her top. Would this be what it was like to be several months pregnant with Daniel’s baby or was a cushion just going to leave it understated in her own mind. After all, she had seen it happen to Hilda twice, the swelling tummy, the bad backs, the thick ankles, not to mention the mood swings. And then there would be bigger boobs, not that she thought Daniel would mind about that at all. She smiled wistfully as her hands swept over the makeshift baby bump.  
  
It was then that she heard the key in the door, pulling the cushion out from under her vest, plumping it up to look like new and replacing it from where it had originally come. Their dog, Hartley, was the first to greet her as his wet nose and tongue came into contact with her knee. “Hey boy,” she said as she patted him on the head and stroked his back.  
  
“I knew one of these days I’d play second fiddle to the dog,” Daniel grinned, his eyes twinkling as he teased her.  
  
She got up from her seat and walked over to him, her hands creeping up over the soft linen of his shirt before clamping around the back of his head. “I’m so glad you’re finally home.” She kissed him, the heat turning up as soon as he responded to her. “Does this mean we’re finally on vacation?”  
  
He nodded, “we don’t have to answer to anyone for six weeks. Did you finish the letter?”  
  
“Yeah,” she began unbuttoning his shirt, “why don’t you go and get a shower and get changed. You can read it whilst I’m fixing lunch. Natalie and Tom are coming over about three, so we’ve got a little while to finalise anything and then I’m all yours.”  
  
“I like the sound of that, Mrs Meade. You could join me now if you wanted to?”  
  
“I could,” she answered, “but we both know what would happen if I did.” Even now she still couldn’t honestly believe how Daniel couldn’t seem to get enough of her. Perhaps when she was the size of a house he’d have second thoughts.  
  
His fingers lifted her chin so that she could do nothing more than look into his eyes, “hey, Betty, are you ok?”  
  
“I’m great,” she smiled, “better than great actually. Glad to finally be getting a lot of vacation time with you.”  
  
“Yeah, me too. We haven’t had anything like this since our honeymoon. There was a time there for a bit where I thought we were strangers living in the same house.”  
  
“Well, we never have to go back to that, thank God.”  
  
“No, we don’t.” He leant his forehead against hers, “are you sure everything’s ok? You just seem a little emotional.”  
  
“Daniel, I’m fine. I just need you to go and get ready so that you can read the letter and I can send it over to Russell before it gets forgotten.”  
  
“Ok, Little Miss Bossy Boots, I’m going.” He started to walk away from her, “are you sure you don’t want to join me?”  
  
“I’m sure. Now go.” She giggled as she threw a pillow at him, missing him narrowly now that her aim had improved, and as she went to retrieve the cushion she could hear him running up the final set of stairs and into their room.  
  
Her first job was to pack away the groceries that he’d bought, ok so some of this they’d have to throw away or give to a neighbour. Not that she could blame him for bringing any of it in, he was still blissfully unaware that over the coming months things were going to change for them. She couldn’t wait to see his reaction.  
  
Once she’d packed up and stowed the shopping bags away she got the ingredients together for lunch. Bucatini all'Amatriciana was one of their favourite dishes, and as she cooked up the bacon and tomato sauce ready for the pasta she wondered what drink they should have to accompany it knowing that she would certainly have to abstain.  
  
She was still thinking about the wine when two arms snaked around her waist and Daniel’s mouth kissed the part where her neck met her shoulder. “I love it when my woman cooks for me,” he said as he quickly turned her on the spot and kissed her on the mouth.  
  
“Hmm,” she stood with her hands on her hips in front of him, looking like a shorter version of Hilda, “don’t get any bright ideas of making me into the little missus. I will never conform to that, as well you know.”  
  
“And I wouldn’t want you to,” he said gently, “I just wanted to see some of that old Suarez passion, get it kick started for later on.”  
  
She went back to her cooking. “Go and make yourself useful and read the letter, it’s on the coffee table.”  
  
“Ok,” he saluted, “my beautiful one.” He disappeared into the living room before returning several moments later with the letter in hand. “Betty, you really don’t seem to be yourself today.”  
  
“Before you ask again, I’m ok.” She snapped, before dropping her head and sighing. “I just think I’m a little tired.”  
  
“You’ve been sleeping a lot recently.”  
  
She smiled over to him, “thank you for noticing. Perhaps I’m just not getting enough REM sleep, they say you need that in order to really relax and recharge your batteries.”  
  
“Well, we’ve got six weeks to work it out. You can stay in bed as long as you want,” he grinned, “in fact I insist upon it.”  
  
“Oh yeah, I forgot Doctor Meade was in the house,” she chuckled. “Are you going to read that damn letter?”  
  
“Ok, ok. I’m onto it.”  
  
She began dishing up their meals before taking them over to the table and setting them down into position. It was the quietest Daniel had been for ages as he picked up his cutlery and began eating his lunch. Betty couldn’t, no matter what was going on inside his mind as he read it through, she couldn’t begin to eat until he knew the reason for her sharp tongue and irritability. She swished the pasta around her plate just for something to do.  
  
She watched as he turned the page, he was nearly at the end. She could see his head moving as he read through the last paragraph, before setting his cutlery down onto his half eaten pasta and looking over to her, his cool eyes searching hers. “It’s better than mine.”  
  
“You didn’t write one, silly.”  
  
“No,” he chuckled, “not for The Capital, when you insisted you wanted to do it this month I knew it would be in good hands. I actually meant the last one I wrote for Mode. I see that you mentioned it.”  
  
She nodded, “I always take a lot from that letter, if I’m ever short of something to say or I’m lonely because you’ve got to work, I take that letter out and I read it through.” She took his hand into hers before kissing his palm. “It serves as a great reminder of how we got to this point and I’ll never be able to forget how much I mean to you whenever I read it.”  
  
He smiled, “I’m just glad we finally managed to get it together.” He looked back to the paper before returning his gaze back to Betty, “so, is it true? Are we having a baby?”

.oOo.

Daniel couldn’t quite put his finger on it but there was something definitely up with his wife. For the past few weeks she hadn’t been sleeping very well. He’d thought, at first, that maybe she had a touch of flu or a virus but a quick hand to her head soon put any thoughts of a fever out of his head as her temperature just felt normal. She hadn’t even been sick. So he’d started to allow her to sleep in a little so that she could try and alleviate some of the tiredness she had seemed to have stored up but that still didn’t appear to make much difference either.  
  
Then there were the mood swings and the snapping, she was even more bossy than usual on occasion. He wondered if after spending so little time together they were now spending too much time together. But that didn’t make sense either, for practically the first three and a half years of their friendship they had almost spent their entire lives living in each other’s pockets, so could he now be getting on her nerves. Unless she was falling out of love with him. Well, he’d soon put a stop to that, for the next six weeks he was going to make sure that they were stronger than ever.  
  
As he walked the last few yards from the shop to the cottage with the dog in tow, he wondered what kind of mood she’d be in and even if she’d be dressed. Several times over the last week he’d come home to find her still in her nightie or in some really awful pyjamas that he could’ve sworn he’d thrown out for the charity collectors to take away when she’d first moved into the cottage with him. He really felt like she didn’t care anymore or perhaps she was just taking the slowdown in her work a little too seriously. She’d seemed happier though when the workload had reduced for both of them, so he really couldn’t understand what was going on.  
  
He opened the front door, the dog walking into the house before him and disappearing into the living room to find Betty, no doubt. When he caught up with Hartley he could see that Betty was enjoying Hartley’s attention. Perhaps that’s what he needed to do, just show her more attention. And she looked better, perhaps she’d finally caught up on the sleep she needed. She was looking good in the shorts and vest shirt she had on, with no bra on underneath he was quick to ascertain as she came and folded herself into his embrace and kissed him. Now she was like a fireball of passion, what was up with her?  
  
He’d narrowly missed the throw cushion that had hurtled his way as she’d made it clear that she wanted him to get washed up. As he ran into their room he looked to his right marvelling at her clothing adorning her side of their dressing room. It still amazed him that she was here, and was his wife. If someone had told him two years ago that he would finally have her as his own he would’ve laughed. But here they both were together, and he loved it.  
  
He took a quick glimpse at the dress that had become his favourite, perhaps he could persuade Betty to wear it for him later on, along with the hot pink thong that she’d worn under it the last time. His personal firecracker whilst the regatta fireworks went off overhead. When he’d finally been able to take her to their Parisian suite and strip her of that gown the last time she’d worn it, he’d nearly keeled over in shock at the incredibly small scrap of lingerie she was wearing but also the waxing that she’d had done. He’d been impressed though, for someone with Betty’s upbringing he could only have imagined what she’d gone through to not only be stripped and trimmed of the hair in the most intimate of places but also to go out and meet the French president with hardly anything on to cover her modesty. He had to smile, she’d kept the waxing up once she’d found out that he loved the small intimate triangle of hair that had been preened just for him. Lesley had been right; it was the little things that kept the magic alive.  
  
It didn’t take him long to shower, or change into shorts and a polo shirt. He only hoped he could convince Betty to change what she was wearing before they went out, he loved to see her dressed up and it was a shame that she did it so rarely. If there was one thing he was going to do over the next six weeks it would be to get Betty to model some of Christina’s clothing and lingerie even if it meant that he would be the one to take the photos just because she didn’t trust anyone else to do it. After all, she had been the face of the McKinney Collection 2012, so there was no reason why she shouldn’t continue doing that if she wanted to. The pictures that he’d had blown up and now adorned some of their walls were incredible, Betty was truly beautiful.  
  
When he’d returned downstairs she’d nagged him to read her letter, once he’d retrieved it she’d finally admitted that she hadn’t been sleeping well, he assured her that she could sleep as much as she wanted to over the next six weeks. She’d brought the food over as he started to read, which he began nibbling away at whilst she merely swirled hers around her plate. She was nervous. Perhaps he should really concentrate on the words.  
  
 _A friend of mine, my best friend actually, once wrote that love is the one attitude that never goes out of fashion. And that is true. Over the last few years I have found that that one small attitude has come to mean so much to me in the experiences of those people I have written about as well as in my own life. Who could forget the harrowing experience of my friend who lost her husband whilst pregnant with their daughter? Or the unhappy tragedy that caused a country to riot. Love was deeply rooted within each of these stories and plays a major part in everyone’s lives._  
  
 _Many of you may remember my Young Editor of the Year acceptance speech from December 2011 where I stated that being able to see a magazine through from conception, birth and from those first few steps into childhood, was an incredible achievement for any parent to have to undertake. I can honestly say that I put blood, sweat and tears into its journey along with lashings of love. It is an attitude that I spread freely amongst the editorial staff when I asked them to help me bring the child up and into its teenage years, when the controllable youngster became a problematic young adult. It was at that point I had to relinquish some of my control, I had fallen in love. Not with my magazine you understand, I couldn’t love it any more than I already did, but with my best friend. A man that not only nearly burnt down his office at Mode in order to get me to stay in New York but also a man that followed me across the Atlantic, set up a new life for himself with me in mind and finally, with the help of family and friends, opened my eyes to the possibility of something other than friendship. It had taken us over five years to reach that point and eventually, because of this new found romance I felt I needed to move aside and have someone else help me bring up the wayward teen publication. Russell Govier, my second in command, was the obvious choice._  
  
 _Having now handed over part of my duties to my new Co-editor in Chief, I was able to sit back and re-establish my love for this magazine, changes were made, new directions were sought, we gave it a facelift and our love was passed on again. And whilst this was going on I was able to marry my best friend, seeking a life that we would be able to enjoy together whilst looking forward to our mutual future. And he turned up here too, in August 2012 in fact, when my husband joined the team as Co-editor in Chief along with Russell and myself. A new era was born; our magazine now had three willing parents._  
  
 _So it is at this next phase in my life where I must duly honour a promise I made to my husband shortly after we married. It is a duty that I must make good on as I will no longer be in a position to share my love three ways. From November, I will step down as Co-Editor in Chief leaving Russell and my husband, Daniel Meade to love this magazine in their own way and strive to find a place for it in this increasingly electronic technological age. I will be taking a step away as I have another project that I need to nurture and breathe life into, that of mine and Daniel’s child who we expect to join us as part of our growing family in March next year, I hope that you will wish us well as we become parents for the first time._  
  
 _Finally, I just wish to say that I love you all for taking the time to read this magazine and loving it as much as I will continue to do as I too become an avid reader of it rather than an active participant. I will miss the last minute changes, the production meetings at midnight, the sound of the printing presses as they start up, it was a challenge and I loved every moment of it. Now I have a new challenge and I know that I will love this one as much as the last, in fact I’m almost sure the challenges that Daniel and I will face as parents won’t be any different, they’ll still be last minute diaper, sorry, nappy changes and midnight meetings at the milk station, as well as the wailing of our child as we learn to understand what it is that they from us besides our love. And I’m glad that this time I won’t be a lone parent, this time I will have someone with me, helping me, encouraging me and loving me. For without his love I probably wouldn’t be the same person I am today and I certainly wouldn’t be having his baby._  
  
 _So as a fitting tribute to everyone that has helped me, supported me and loved me, including every last reader of this magazine, I wish to raise a toast. Here’s to our future wherever it may lead us and the love that leads us there,_  
  
 _With all my love_  
  
 _Betty Suarez-Meade_  
  
He set his cutlery down onto his half eaten pasta and looked over to her, his eyes searching the warm chocolate of hers, attempting to understand the differences that had recently taken change within her. “It’s better than mine.” He teased.  
  
“You didn’t write one, silly.”  
  
“No,” he chuckled, “not for The Capital, when you insisted you wanted to do it this month I knew it would be in good hands. I actually meant the last one I wrote for Mode. I see that you mentioned it.” He smiled at her references to his stupidity.  
  
She nodded, “I always take a lot from that letter, if I’m ever short of something to say or I’m lonely because you’ve got to work, I take that letter out and I read it through.” He watched as she took his hand into hers before kissing his palm, his eyes closed from the sudden intimacy. “It serves as a great reminder of how we got to this point and I’ll never be able to forget how much I mean to you whenever I read it.” His heart melted; even he still couldn’t quite believe that Wilhelmina had actually let them print it. He’d only wanted to let her know that someone at home still cared for her, what better way than to tell the world.  
  
He smiled, “I’m just glad we finally managed to get it together.” He looked back to the paper before returning his gaze back to Betty, “so, is it true? Are we having a baby?” She nodded, her lips pressed together firmly. With as much gentleness as he could muster he said, “how long have you known?”  
  
“About two weeks.” She dropped her head, a tear dropped onto the wooden floor between them. “I should’ve told you sooner but I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about it.”  
  
“Well, it certainly explains a lot of things.” He stood up, holding his hand out to her for her to take. She looked up with sad eyes before taking his hand and allowing him to walk them through to the lounge. He sat down in his favourite chair, sitting her in his lap, his hand holding her chin in order to make her look at him. “What’s wrong, why are you crying?”  
  
“Because I should’ve told you right away.”  
  
“Betty, I’m not angry with you for not telling me. It’s not like I’ve been around much over the last few weeks what with that big contract at Wayfarer and the photo shoot, which we really need to talk about, by the way.”  
  
“You’re not angry?”  
  
“No, I’m ecstatic.” His palm smoothed over the side of her face, “I couldn’t be happier.”  
  
“It’s just its a little earlier than we were thinking about.”  
  
He shook his head, smiling at her, “actually, if you’d fallen pregnant on the night we’d got married I wouldn’t have minded.”  
  
“But you kept asking me about my pill?”  
  
“Only because I was hoping that you’d say you didn’t want to take them anymore,” his eyes twinkled.  
  
“Seriously?” He nodded, “you were waiting for me to take the lead.”  
  
“Yep, I wanted you to make the decision. I’m assuming you did stop taking them.”  
  
She nodded. “Yes, about five months ago.”  
  
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Daniel asked.  
  
“Because I didn’t want there to be any pressure on us.”  
  
“Pressure?” He laughed, “honey we practically make love every other day. We might not have enough time to sit and chat most days but we always find time for that.”  
  
“I know,” she smiled shyly. “Don’t laugh at me.”  
  
“I’m not, honestly. I just can’t believe that you thought it was going to pressurise us into performing just because you’d stopped taking your contraception.” He shook his head before bringing her closer to him and kissing her. “So how far along are we?”  
  
“I don’t exactly know, not with the amount of sex we have.” She chuckled. “My first proper appointment is next week but I suspect I’m about eight weeks already going on mine and the doctor’s calculations. But I’ll have the first ultrasound then and they can measure the baby more accurately at the same time. Will you come with me?”  
  
“Try stopping me.” He said, “So, for about the last eight weeks you’ve definitely been a bit snappy, and tired, and lethargic. Yep, I reckon that’s a fair estimate. You haven’t been sick though?”  
  
“There’s still time apparently, but I seem to have missed out on that side effect for the moment at least.” He pulled her into another kiss. “Daniel?”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“Are you going to still love me when I’ve put on loads of baby weight and I look like a beached whale?”  
  
He looked her dead in the eye, “Betty, you really don’t know me at all if you have to ask me that.” She still looked a little glum, “but if it’s the only way I‘m going to appease you, I love you Betty Meade. I fell in love with you, not your red Guadalajara poncho, or your wild hair, braces or glasses, I saw beyond all of that and fell in love with what was going on inside your head and your heart. You’re beautiful to me whatever you wear, apart from those horrible pyjamas, or whatever you look like. I’d still love you if you had to wear those braces again. So, yes, I will still love you when this baby,” he put his hand over her stomach, “finally starts filling you out a bit, and your ankles are swollen and your breasts are much bigger,” he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, “because it’s still all a part of you. And you will be looking after the one thing that means so much to both of us, our child. Even when you’re at the very end of your pregnancy you’re still going to be my beautiful, amazing, incredible Betty, who I love and adore with every ounce of my soul.” He wiped at the tears that were falling down her cheeks. “There are a couple of things I would really like you to do for me though.”  
  
“And they are?”  
  
“I want you to model for Christina’s label.”  
  
“We’ve been over this Daniel. I didn’t mind showing the world that Ugly Betty had died by traipsing my body down those catwalks last year. But I don’t want to do any modelling. Christina knows that.”  
  
“But there is no-one else that is the face of Christina McKinney. You made a rod for your own back, the job that you did was amazing. The photo shoot and interview for Mode was incredible and insightful. You really are an ambassador for real life, natural looking, fantastically sexy, curvy women in fashion. I was an editor of a fashion magazine you know; I do have an eye for these things.”  
  
“And soon, I’ll be showing with my baby bump. Do you want that plastered all over Times Square?”  
  
He snuggled closer, “yes, even though every red blooded man in Western civilisation may be fawning over you, I still know it’s me you want in your bed every night. And if Demi Moore can do it, then why not my gorgeous, alluring wife?”  
  
“You are so charming when you want something.”  
  
“You know me too well.” He kissed her neck and down her cleavage.  
  
“Ok, I’ll do it. But no lingerie.”  
  
“Why not?”  
  
“Because it may have slipped your memory but I know who you have shooting the photos and I don’t trust Becks.”  
  
“Betty, if Becks ever came onto you he’d have me to answer to.”  
  
“I know, and I know he wouldn’t. He just has to remember me when we met the first time around to get the jitters but he kind of leers, all the same.”  
  
“Oh right, well I could do it.” He offered.  
  
“What do you know about taking photographs?”  
  
“Not much, but I’d have a go if it meant you’d do this.” He chuckled.  
  
Well, I can’t see us getting many shots done, as I think you’d be more interested in getting me out of anything I was wearing rather than taking pictures of me in them.”  
  
“You have a point.”  
  
“Wait, I know.” She said, “what’s Cliff St Paul up to these days?”  
  
“I have no idea, but I guess we could find out. Why?”  
  
“Those swimwear pictures he took were great, he’s a friend and he’s gay. I’d be comfortable with him taking pictures of me because I know he’d do an excellent job and keep me at ease.”  
  
“And I’d be happy because if I left you alone to get on with it I know he wouldn’t hit on my wife. Perfect.” He smiled, “ok, so that’s the first thing.”  
  
“Right,” she asked quizzically, “what else?”  
  
“I really feel like you’ve hit a wall or something at the moment, you really don’t seem to want to look after yourself. There were several days last week that I came home and found you still walking around in your nightie.”  
  
“I’d only just got up.”  
  
“Ok, but then you stayed in it until we went to bed.”  
  
“I guess I was just a little worried about telling you about the baby, and I’ve been having these flushes while it’s been really hot outside. Also, it’s nice not to have to get up early and straighten my hair for an hour every day, wear something that’s restrictive or put on loads of make-up. Why, do I look awful?”  
  
“No, not at all. You could wear a potato sack and I’d still love you, and I understand that were not in the rat race anymore so its ok to slow down a bit. It’s just you’ve gone from being so precise about everything to completely letting go.”  
  
“So you think I should make some kind of effort every day?”  
  
“Like today, I wasn’t expecting to see you wearing this little ensemble. Although I think you should just keep this between us, especially as you haven’t got a bra on.”  
  
“Oh don’t worry, I intend changing before Natalie and Ian turn up.”  
  
“That’s good to know.”  
  
Her arms stretched up around his neck. “Anything else?”  
  
“Actually, there is one more thing.” His hands began helping her to straddle his lap.  
  
“Yes?” She leant down and kissed him.  
  
“I was just wondering, you know, before the baby arrives if we should really think about christening all the rooms around the house that we haven’t yet made love in.”  
  
“Why? Because when the baby arrives you think I’m going to keep conjugal rights to a minimum?”  
  
“Maybe, although I think I could charm you when I need to. But when the baby comes we won’t be able to have a quickie in the living room for example.”  
  
“And why not? Hey, mister, we’re going to have to find every opportunity to get sex when we can once the baby’s born and if that means a quick fumble on your office desk because we’ve got ten minutes before I have to pick them up from school or ballet class or football or whatever, then believe me I’ll take what I can get.”  
  
“Really, on my desk?”  
  
“Haven’t you ever had that fantasy? Oh, hang on; you probably actively took part in several trysts exactly like that over your playboy period.” She teased, as he began sucking on her lower lip.  
  
“Well, you only had to say and I’d have been more than happy to have taken you on my desk, or on the chaise or even that Dalton swivel task chair.”  
  
“Very compelling, all I have to do is ask?”  
  
“Yep?” His hands now reaching for the hem of her top and pushing the fabric up over her stomach.  
  
“Ok, Meade, I want you in your office,” she bent her head to his ear, “now.”  
  
He licked his lips at the anticipation of taking her on his desk; he could feel his heart beat faster as he picked her up in his arms and walked them through into his office before depositing her on the edge of the desk. “How do you want to play this out?” He asked her, his eyes shining.  
  
“Well, for at least five minutes I just want to experience what it would’ve been like to have been taken by Daniel Meade, Playboy extraordinaire.”  
  
“Betty, I’m not sure if I want to bring him back.”  
  
“Please Daniel; it only has to be for a little while. I mean he might be lucky enough for his assistant to take dictation for him later on,” she giggled.  
  
He grinned, “well maybe for ten minutes then, but I’m reverting straight back after that, ok?”  
  
“Daniel,” he felt her hand caress his face. “You weren’t evil you know, just lost.”  
  
“I know, and you found me. You don’t know how much that means to me.”  
  
“Oh, I think I do. I only have to read your letter.” He watched as she swished the pencil pot and a couple of files onto the floor. “That’s better.”  
  
He pulled her to him, his hands on her bottom sliding her across the glass surface to meet his ever growing arousal. His mouth found hers hungrily, bending her back onto the surface before scrunching her top up and over her head, her hands tugging at his shirt. He made light work of his own clothing, towering above her like an Adonis, before quickly undoing the buttons at the opening of her shorts and pulling them apart. All he could see was the now familiar triangle of carefully pruned hair, she wasn’t wearing any panties. “And here I was worrying that you might have lost interest in looking good for me.” The shorts were removed in the blink of an eye as he took a hand and held hers together above her head, her legs clamping around his hips showing him that she was more than ready for him. It was quick and reckless, thrilling and exciting, but different.  
  
Even in the hasty moments of their union Daniel knew he would never be able to go back to his old ways, something had changed within him for good. He certainly wanted to explore more fantasies with her if that’s what she wanted but it would never not mean anything to him. He pulled her up towards him, his hands holding her to him as he walked their still united bodies up the stairs and into their room. “No dictation will be necessary Miss Suarez; I just need your undivided attention for the rest of the night.”  
  
“Daniel, we have plans.”  
  
As he lay there in the middle of their huge bed next to her, he played with her hair, his eyes focused on her face. “Actually we don’t, Tom had to take Natalie to the hospital, and it seems the baby might be making an early appearance.”  
  
“Oh, ok then. So what do you have in mind Mr Meade? Do you need me to pick up your dry cleaning or maybe get you a bagel and some coffee? Type some letters out?”  
  
“No, Betty, I just want you to stay with me all night and make love to me. I mean, I know that you’re pregnant with our first baby but that doesn’t stop us practicing for the next one. Does it?”  
  
He watched her shake her head before pulling her to him once again and kissing her. “No, Daniel. I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.”


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20  
   
Epilogue  
   
 _31 st December 2020_  
   
“God, I hate you Meade.” Betty roared as she panted through a painful contraction, constricting her hand around his fingers. Daniel could only hope and pray that this time she wasn’t going to break one.  
   
“Honey, you say that every time but keep coming back for more.” His eyes twinkled, as he saw her attempt to smile at his joke, “now come on, you know what to do, breathe with me.”  
   
In all fairness to them both, it had been a little while but they’d been assured by the midwife that it was like riding a bike, they would both soon remember the technique when they needed to.  
   
“I just don’t know if I can,” she whimpered, the tears beginning to fall from her eyes. This birth had become irritatingly slow and extremely painful for her, all Daniel had to do was look into her eyes to see what was going on. “Perhaps he’s just not ready to come out yet?”  
   
“Betty, your waters burst yesterday dinnertime, in my sister’s office of all places.” He watched as she threw her head back and laughed.  
   
“She’s not going to forget that in a while,” Betty sniggered, before having to pant through another contraction.  
   
“I don’t think any of us will.” He chuckled, “I thought Philippe was going to keel over and I’ve never seen Alexis go that shade of green before.”  
   
“I’m glad I could’ve been of service. It’s a good job you knew what to do though.” She kissed his hand. “I don’t hate you.”  
   
“I know,” he smiled, panting with her as she focused on yet another contraction. “Where is the midwife?”  
   
“Daniel, this is taking too long, the contractions are… argh” she screamed out, before regaining composure, “really close together. Could you just go and look for me?”  
   
“What?” He knew that something wasn’t quite right; their miracle baby was making a hefty entrance into this world.  
   
“Have a look what’s going on?”  
   
“I’m not a doctor Betty.”  
   
“I’m aware of that,” she snapped, “please?”  
   
“Ok,” he stepped forward lifting up the edge of the nightie she had on and looking up between her thighs. “Jesus.”  
   
“What is it?”  
  
“Well, I’m no expert but I think that’s the baby’s head. At least I hope it is.”  
   
“Oh, wow. So it’s crowning?” She reached down, her hand touching the scalp as it stayed where it was. She smiled.  
   
“How can you be so calm?” He said running back up to her head and pressing the nurse call button several times.  
   
“It’s nearly over, Daniel.” He ran over to the door, opened it wide, went out into the corridor and looked around, where was everybody? Was this some kind of bad dream? “Daniel?” He heard her call out angrily.  
   
He stepped back into the room to see her crawling around the bed on all fours. “Yes?”  
   
“What are you doing?”  
   
“I need to find someone.”  
   
“No, you need to help me.” She squealed as her body told her to push, “we’ve done this three times before, we can do it again.”  
   
“But this one seems a bit stubborn.”  
   
“I wonder where he gets that from.” The sarcasm dripped from her tone, “I really need you.”  
   
“I know,” and he had to wonder himself. The three births before had seemed so easy compared to this one. His eldest daughter Rosa Leah had been born relatively quickly and without complication, with twin girls following eighteen months behind but after several years of phantom pregnancies, this would be there last attempt at having the boy he really wanted. With all the scans they’d had, they hadn’t wanted to know the sex, although anyone who seemed to be an expert after having their own children had given their opinion. It was definitely a boy. Even Betty had said that she was carrying this one differently to any of the girls. But for all he knew it could’ve just been the fact that Betty seemed to be having difficulties. “Ok, so what do we need to do?”  
   
“Come here for a start,” she said, as he walked back to her and she rested her hands on his shoulders for a while, “I just have to push through the contractions when my body tells me to and hopefully this little guy will be with us in no time.”  
   
“I still don’t understand why you’re so perky.”  
   
“Because this is beautiful,” she teared up, bearing down on his shoulders as she pushed before reverting back to the panting.  
   
He smiled, “yes it is.” He whispered, allowing her to put her hands on the table in front of him and lean back to relax until her next big push.  
   
“I’m telling you though; this is absolutely the last time you get me into this situation. No more babies Daniel. I’ll have a divorce before you do this to me again.”  
   
“Yes dear,” he intoned, grinning. “I love it when you’re feisty.”  
  
“And I love it when you … argh.” She pushed down again. “Oh, I … er …”  
   
“What is it?” He watched her feel between her legs.  
   
“I think I can feel ears. Would you mind taking another look?” She knelt up, pulling at her nightie.  
   
“Yes, Betty. Definitely ears.” Daniel couldn’t believe how close he was to delivering his own child. She pushed again, “The heads out, Betty.”  
   
“Ok, I don’t need a play by play; just make sure he doesn’t fall on his head when he comes out completely.”  
   
“You’re still sure it’s a boy?”  
  
“Yeah. What’s it looking like from where you’re standing?”  
   
“It’s a toss-up at the moment.”  
   
“Poor kid, your father can’t even tell.” Betty cooed to her baby.  
   
“Well he is kind of pruney looking.”  
   
“Thanks for sharing that lovely picture, Daniel. Argh.” She pushed with all of her might.  
   
“Betty that’s it, one final push and he’ll be here.” Daniel encouraged, as he gently held his baby’s shoulders ready for Betty’s last stand. She pushed one final time and Daniel pulled their son into his arms, the child wailing at the top of his voice. “Oh my God, Betty, he’s beautiful,” Daniel laughed as tears of joy ran down his face. Betty settled herself back on the bed, happy that Daniel finally had his son. He brought their child over to his mother and allowed him to settle into her arms against her chest as she cooed her words of love to him, welcoming him into their family.  
   
It was at that point that the midwife and a nurse stormed into the room, “sorry, it’s murder out there. New Year’s Eve isn’t the best night to have a baby. How are you guys doing?” As she drew nearer she could see that baby Meade had arrived. “Wow.”  
   
The nurse took the baby away for his checks and to get him cleaned up after Daniel proudly cut the cord and stayed with Betty until the placenta had also been delivered. Once Betty had been checked over, tea and toast were brought in for them as baby settled back into Betty’s arms and even fed a little bit, suckling at Betty’s chest. All Daniel could do was smile, even after the birth of the other three children he’d never felt so close to either the baby or his mother. “Why are you smiling?” Betty asked, looking up into his eyes.  
   
“I think that has got to be the best experience I’ve ever had, and I don’t think I could ever recommend it highly enough.” He said sincerely.  
   
“You enjoyed delivering our baby?”  
   
“Yes, and if I had to do this over again, I would. I’ve never felt so close to you or any of our children as I have done tonight. Truly our miracle baby.”  
   
“Yes.” She smiled, tears forming in her eyes. “Happy anniversary, Daniel.”  
   
He leant in and kissed her. “Happy anniversary, my sweet Betty. I love you more and more with each day that passes because you always know how to bring light into my world.” He looked at his watch as a TV along the hall began to ring out the song of the bells at Westminster, “it’s nearly midnight, make a wish.” As Big Ben was struck for the first bong, he kissed her, his arms around her and their baby boy. “Happy New Year, honey. May we have many more.”  
   
“I hope you mean New Years and not babies,” she laughed.  
   
“I think you know what I meant.” He said seriously, “even though I loved the experience this is definitely the last baby.” He tucked the blanket underneath his son’s chin. “He’s hungry.”  
   
She nodded; baby was certainly getting a good feed. “What did you wish for?”  
   
“Just that this never changes, that we live long and happy lives together and that our children grow up to be good people. What about you?”  
  
“I didn’t wish for anything, your kiss was scrambling my brain.” She teased, “plus I don’t need to wish for anything, I have everything that I need, I had everything the day I married you. The rest is a given.” She looked down at the baby, “so have you finally decided on a name?”  
   
He nodded. “Benjamin Emerson Meade. How does that sound?”  
   
“It just rolls off the tongue, and that’s good because I think we’re probably going to be saying it a lot.” She giggled, looking down at her son who was now sleeping in her arms. “Hi Ben, welcome to the Meade family.”

.oOo.

  _31 st December 2026_  
   
“Benjamin Emerson Meade, if I have to tell you to sit down once more then you will be going to bed without opening any of your presents or celebrating your father’s and my anniversary.” Betty was frazzled, trying to get her hair done whilst her errant son kept running up and down the long hallway outside the bedrooms of the suite in the Corinthia Hotel, which she and Daniel had used as their honeymoon suite fifteen years previously, was beginning to grate on her. “I have one nerve left and you are getting on it.”  
   
“Sorry, mommy.” The little boy managed, pulling himself up into the chair by the dressing table, sitting on his hands and swinging his feet underneath him.  
   
“Where on earth is your sister, she was supposed to be helping me by watching you.” For the last half hour her eldest daughter Rosa had mysteriously gone missing. Her eleven year old was as highly strung and independent as both Betty and her son were.  
   
“I think she went to help daddy,” Clarissa May, the youngest of the nine year old twins said as she came into the room and twirled around in her dress for her mother to see. “Do you want me to play a game with him now that I’m dressed?”  
   
“Thank you, Clarrie. That would be very helpful. What’s happening with Izzy?” Betty asked, pulling the comb through her wet hair.  
   
“Aunt Hilda is finishing off her hair and Aunt Amanda is doing her make-up.” Isabella Madison was most definitely a Meade, her appearance was something she always strived to make perfect.  
   
Betty’s face was like thunder, “she’s only nine, I’m going to kill Amanda.”  
   
Clarrie and Ben ran from the room and down the stairs. From within the room Betty could hear Daniel shouting at them to stop running. He knocked on the door to their room before walking in, “are you decent?”  
  
“Would it matter if I wasn’t?” She ran her eyes appreciatively over the man that she’d married fifteen years previously, wearing the dark charcoal suit that he’d worn on that same day. The years had been kind to him, he still had the athletic frame and strong limbs, his eyes were the brightest clearest blue that she had ever seen them and he still had perfect vision. The only thing that had changed were the laughter lines around his eyes when he smiled and the greying hair at his temple. For a man of fifty two years he was still considered to be in as good shape as someone ten years younger, he had even been told that although there was the risk of heart disease in his family, he would live a long full life, something he attributed to the clean fresh air he breathed in everyday and the healthy diet that Betty had insisted upon when she knew she was expecting Rosa.  
   
“Don’t tell your father but … no.” His arms slid around his wife’s waist before planting a slow lingering kiss on her lips.  
   
“Mmm,” she moaned, “I needed that.” His brows knitted together, “Ben has been doing my head in because he’s bored, when Rosa should’ve been looking after him for me, and Amanda is painting Izzy’s face.”  
   
“Oh, well I can only apologise for taking Rosa with me, she was helping me choose a ring for you.”  
   
“I thought we were having our original rings blessed again.”  
   
“We are. It’s just I’ve never bought you an eternity ring and as we now have four children its long overdue.” He pulled the small box from out of his inside pocket. “I’ve only just received it.” He opened the box, pulling out a platinum piece set with brilliant cut diamonds around the entire circumference of the ring. He motioned for her to look inside where it had been engraved with the four names of their children,  _Rosa, Izzy, Clarrie, Ben_.  
   
“Oh, Daniel,” she cried, “it’s beautiful.” He placed the ring on the opposite ring finger on her right hand before taking her wedding ring off and placing a kiss on her hand where her ring was now bare.  
   
“You’ll see this again shortly.” He said before kissing her once again. “I best go. I’ll have a talk with my errant son too.”  
   
“You best had,” Hilda screeched from just within the doorway. “It’s unlucky to see the bride ...”  
  
Betty cut her off, “I think that only counts if you’re actually getting married. Seeing as we’ve been married for fifteen years I guess we’ve already got over all that.” She kissed him quickly before letting go of his hand. “See you soon.” He nodded before leaving the room. “Where’s Amanda?”  
   
“I’m right here,” she said as she crossed the threshold, “give me a break.”  
   
“Ok, where do you want it?” Betty stood in front of the pair with her hands on her hips, “what did you think you were doing putting make-up on my nine year old?”  
   
“Betty, it’s ok. It’s only a bit.” Amanda said.  
   
“I don’t care, she’s not old enough.”  
   
“Betty, its fine.” Hilda put in, “actually its good, very natural looking.”  
   
“Ok, well I’m a little too neurotic to care at the moment because I have,” she looked at the clock, “fifteen minutes to get this done.”  
   
“Relax,” we’ll have you looking like a knocked up beauty queen in no time,” Amanda said, as Betty and Hilda both stood in front of her with gaping mouths. “What?”  
   
“It’s a good job you’re my half-sister-in-law because I would seriously do time for you at the moment.”  
   
“Glad you weren’t like this the last time.”  
   
Hilda held Betty back, “you are kinda acting weird.”  
   
“I just want everything to be perfect.” Betty said, “remember, I didn’t have to do anything last time, all the panic was taken away from me.”  
   
“Everything will be fine, you’ll see.” Hilda remarked. “Come on Betty, we’ll get this done in no time.” 

.oOo.

Searching his pockets for the rings, Daniel couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. Not that this time it was a matter of simply getting married and have Matt Hartley ruin everything for him, but that once the ceremony was over, Betty would be berating him for spending money on a new wedding ring for her. He looked over to the celebrant briefly, who picked up a small bag and waved it in front of her. She had the rings already. Ok, so that was a load off.  
   
He looked over to where the kids were sat between his mother, Alexis, Philippe and Tyler. They all smiled back at him with his eyes, their hair as dark and, on occasion, unruly as their mother’s but it didn’t take a genius to work out that he loved every single one of them. He had even decided what they were all going to be once they’d grown up, finished their education, gone to university even if that’s what they wanted. Rosa was going to follow both he and Betty into publication, that was a cert. Izzy was either going to be a model or an actress. He preferred the latter considering the type of man he used to be and he certainly didn’t want her heart broken by any notorious bachelor. Clarrie, well she was definitely a writer; but with her tendency to live in a dream most of the time she would write creatively, he could see her on book tours or writing plays for her twin sister to star in. And then there was his son, who was fast becoming a computer and mathematical genius, not that he knew where that had come from as neither he nor Betty were that way inclined. Perhaps Alexis had been coaching him whilst she’d babysat for them.  
   
Not that it mattered, he didn’t really mind what field his children decided to move into, he and Betty would support any of their decisions and help them in any way that they could. He and Betty were doing a great job with them and he knew that that would continue; essentially their kids were great and they loved their parents dearly. And that was all Daniel had ever wanted, the last thing he would ever do would be to treat them like his father had treated him. Even though he said it himself, their kids were an absolute credit to Betty and him.  
   
He looked around the assembled congregation. Many of them had been there the last time, dotted with a few new faces that wanted to help Betty and Daniel celebrate their fifteenth anniversary, as well as Ben’s sixth birthday. His mother was happy with her husband, Clive. She’d moved to London when Clive had popped the question, after asking Daniel for his consent to marry his mother. He’d been so proud when she’d asked him to give her away. And as his mom wasn’t so far away from them she would regularly look after the kids so that he and Betty could get much needed time on their own.  
   
Tyler and Amanda hadn’t waited long after Betty and Daniel’s wedding to get married. Everyone suspected it was because Amanda had fallen pregnant but no baby bump was forthcoming and it later transpired that there were complications. Several courses of IVF finally produced a baby and now their only son was nearing his eighth birthday. It never failed to surprise Daniel how Amanda had become quite the mother.  
   
Matt Hartley had come with his fiancé of several years but Daniel knew that the reason for this wasn’t because Matt was stalling. Daniel knew Matt still held a torch for Betty. Not that Daniel didn’t understand why, had the boot been on the other foot then he knew that he would be sat there with another fiancé on his arm wondering when Matt’s and Betty’s marriage would fall apart so that he could skip on in.  
   
Then there were Alexis, Philippe and DJ. When Philippe had proposed to Alexis she had moved herself across the channel in order to be with him. This meant that for a while DJ had spent some time living with Betty and Daniel. He’d managed to calm down quite a bit and with help from Betty had decided to enrol at Plymouth University. Nobody was really sure what the course entailed but he was doing ok, his grades were good and he was enjoying himself which was enough to make Alexis very proud. DJ had also become an attentive big brother to the daughter that Philippe and Alexis had had via surrogate seven years earlier.  
   
Ignacio and Elena were also married and still living in Queens. Betty’s father had tried a spell in California but found it was too hot for his liking. When they’d gone back to Queens they’d moved into a smaller place knowing that it was unlikely for Ignacio’s children to want to come back home, which meant that whenever Bobby and Hilda had a fight it wasn’t possible for both Justin and Bobby to sleep over at Ignacio’s. Bobby was normally consigned to the guest bedroom. After Hilda’s miscarriage they did go on to have two more children, Nick who was fourteen and Adrianna who was twelve and who was affectionately nicknamed chipmunk because she looked so much like Betty as a baby. Both were a handful but somehow they managed.  
   
Christina had met an Italian by the name of Giorgio, a self-made millionaire and so charming. When the Italian had met Betty, Daniel had thought he’d have a run for his money but when he asked her how much she liked him she had simply replied, “I just don’t get what Christina see’s in him.” He’d had to laugh especially as Christina had said similar things about him. It was about time Christina was happy. She had her children and her business, and with Daniel’s help the company had gone from strength to strength. Giorgio had been a welcome distraction at her time of need and now they too were engaged to be married.  
   
Other faces came into view as he continued to survey the mass; Marc and Cliff, who had finally laid their demons to rest and were now very married and living in Greenwich Village. Marc had become creative director of Mode whilst Cliff spent his time flying off to exotic locations, taking shots for every high end fashion magazine the world over. They were in the process of adopting their first child. Cliff had offered to take photos of their celebration by way of a present to him and Betty.  
   
Becks was with his latest bombshell, who was really only after his money whilst he was still only after one thing, sex. Even with Daniel’s pep talks on how great life finally was to be with one women and share a life together he still couldn’t give up his old ways. But if that’s what he wanted who was Daniel to judge. Once his face had weathered a few more storms and his money had run out, Daniel could only imagine where Becks would end up.  
   
Wilhelmina was now an Owens and she seemed happier than ever, especially as Daniel and Connor had shaken hands and agreed to put their past behind them. Betty had kissed and hugged both of them on that day, much to the annoyance of Wilhelmina, but as Betty had said, “at least there is no more bad feeling any longer, perhaps Molly can finally be peacefully laid to rest.” Wilhelmina had smiled at that before whisking her husband off to her lair.  
   
And she was still Editor-in-Chief at Mode with a share option on the magazine, Claire had overall control but realised that Wilhelmina would only stay if she knew she had a stake in it. Surprisingly it was enough of a carrot to keep her sweet, especially as Willi was the breadwinner in the Owens household. Connor had resigned himself to the fact that he would never work in finance again but Daniel had given him some forecasts and projections to deal with on behalf of the boatyard. It was enough to get his passion back and he now was doing some consultation work for several charitable organisations, one of which was the Molly Meade Foundation, set up by Daniel to help families of cancer sufferers through the helplessness and the pain of losing their loved ones.  
   
Justin and his new friend Jason were both just content to sit on the side-lines together, holding hands and talking intimately as they watched everyone else’s drama unfold around them. They had met when both had been picked for a show on Broadway. It hadn’t taken long for romance to blossom between them and Daniel knew that this was the happiest he had ever seen Justin. He smiled as he thought about that first Christmas when they had made decorations together. He had grown into a wonderful young man and it seemed Jason was good for him.  
   
Gio, Jennie and their brood sat at the back. Betty, Daniel and the children would spend at least one good vacation a year with them in order to catch up on where both families were at. The first time that they had all met up it had surprised Daniel how good it had felt. Gio was a favourite amongst the kids and so easy to talk to. Heck, he still flirted with Betty at times but that was Gio, and Daniel understood that. He was comfortable with it because not only had it created a deep rooted friendship between them all but it had also kept him on his toes, like Lesley had suggested all those years before. Plus, for two weeks solid afterwards he knew he was going to get lucky, Betty always came back from trips away with the Rossi family with the most incredible guilt.  
   
And then there was Lesley, whose wife Patricia had sadly passed away that summer from a blood clot on her brain. How they had all sobbed when they’d heard the news, Patricia had become like a surrogate mother and grandmother to his whole family after spending many a weekend camped out at Lesley’s Surrey estate. Of all the people in the room, Lesley was the one person who deserved to still have his happiness. He nodded and smiled at Lesley as he caught his eye before the door opened at his right side and Betty was stood next to him. “Hi,” she said.  
   
He looked over, astonished to see her wearing his favourite pink dress, the one from Milan. She hadn’t worn it in over ten years since the baby weight had become increasingly difficult to shed. Not that he minded, he loved her curves and the bigger boobs that she’d kept hold of as a result of carrying and giving birth to their four children and there was nothing anyone could say to make him change his mind on that score. She was beautiful and he loved her. “You look hot, Mrs Meade.”  
   
“What, in this old thing?” Her eyes sparkled. “Christina worked her magic again.”  
   
“I can tell. You know how much I love that dress on you.” He said, noticing that she wasn’t wearing a bra.  
   
“I also know how much you love to get me out of it too.” She smiled, “you won’t be disappointed, I’m wearing our old friend underneath.”  
   
He gulped, he knew what that meant, she was only wearing that tiny thong again. “Well, I haven’t got long to wait, have I?” He appraised everything about her, she looked amazing and she was even wearing the same necklace and earrings that he had bought her for their wedding. “Are you ready?” She nodded up to him and they walked up the aisle towards the celebrant.  
   
“Many of you will have been here in this same room fifteen years ago today to witness the happy union between Daniel and Betty. To celebrate their anniversary they wanted to renew their vows in front of you all again, their chosen witnesses, and to also include their children in this celebration. Their eldest child would now like to say a few words.”  
   
As Daniel and Betty took their seats, Rosa stepped up in front of everyone. “When I listen to people talk about my mom and dad and how long it took them to get together I often wonder how I would’ve turned out if something else had happened.” She looked across to her parents, holding hands and smiling at each other like giddy teenagers. “Would I be older? Would I have been my dad’s daughter or my mom’s? Would I have been Uncle Gio’s daughter or Aunt Amanda’s?” The audience chuckled. “Would I have mom’s dark hair or dad’s blue eyes? I don’t know, but I know one thing. It may have taken them forever to get together but it will take someone a lifetime to pull them apart.” She noticed her dad give her mom his handkerchief. “I’m really lucky to have these two people as my parents, I couldn’t wish for better because I know they love me, as well as my brother and sisters. Sometimes we might not deserve it but even then they never stop, and the love that they have for each other only helps to keep us all safe and together. As one big happy family. I love you mom and dad.” She walked over to where Betty and Daniel were sat, giving them each a hug and a kiss before returning to her seat.  
   
Next up was Becks. “I’ve known this pair for a long time.” He looked over to Daniel and Betty, “I’ve known Danny boy since we were kids, always the dynamic duo, drinking in bars, picking up girls and …”  
   
Daniel held onto Betty’s hand as she shook her head. “Let’s keep it a G rating, Becks?” Daniel said.  
   
“No worries, Danny. Listen, what I was going to say was that I was never suited to the lifestyle that Danny ultimately chose but it works for him. His and Betty’s kids are adorable and as for the little lady herself,” he looked over to Betty, “well, she’s probably got the biggest heart I know. She had to have to see past all of Daniel’s sh…” He stopped himself quickly, “er … Daniel’s past. She found the part of him that was missing and put him back together again. He’s definitely a better man for finding Betty and holding onto her. No one can doubt that they still love each other after all of these years; you only have to look at them to just know. Love you both.” He walked up to where Daniel and Betty were stood, taking Betty into a hug and kissing her cheek. “Thank you for looking after him, Betty.”  
   
“My pleasure, Becks.”  
   
“He turned his attention to Daniel, holding onto his hand before bringing him into a hug. “Take care of her man; she’s one in a million.”  
   
Daniel smiled over to Betty, “I know. I will.”  
   
As Becks went to retake his seat, Daniel held Betty’s hand and guided her back in front of the celebrant. “Fifteen years ago today, you each made a promise to the other to love, honour and cherish each other through good and bad, and as part of that promise you gave each other a symbol of your love in the form of a ring. Each ring will be returned to each partner with vows written by Daniel and Betty.”  
   
Daniel picked up the new ring, placing it on Betty’s ring finger. She gasped noticing the five diamonds evenly spaced around the platinum ring. “One for each of the people I hold dear to me,” he whispered. She smiled, relief shot through him, she wasn’t angry with him.  
   
“Betty, I can’t believe that it’s been fifteen years since we made our promise to one another. On that day I promised to keep you safe, provide for you and our family, and adore and cherish you for the rest of ours days. I hoped that we would have a good life, that we would learn to compromise and that we’d never go to bed on an argument. I think we managed that quite well.” A rumble of laughter could be heard but he only had eyes for his wife. “And I am thankful to God every day that I still wake up beside you and that you continue to love me and want to make me happy as I do you. Our children are our blessing for the love that we share for one another. I will never forget the first time that we held each of them when they arrived into our world. They may stress us both out at times but they are good kids and they will grow up to be fine people. We’ve done a great job so far.” He smiled down to her, her face now in his hands as she lightly held onto his waist. “I love you Betty Meade, my heart is yours forever. Please continue to make my happiness and I will make yours.”  
   
He wiped at the tears upon her cheeks. “I will,” she managed.  
   
Betty picked up Daniel’s ring. Unlike hers with the diamonds, his had been etched with five stars. “Daniel, it’s beautiful.” He smiled; he’d done the right thing. As she positioned the ring on his finger she looked up towards him, her eyes sparkling like the diamonds on her hands. She looked back up to him, “when we last exchanged these vows I told you that you are my soul mate and that no one could doubt the love that we shared because they could all feel it too. And nothing over the last fifteen years has made me alter that opinion of us. In fact, I think I love you more today than I have ever loved you, if that is at all possible, and I not only know that everyone in this room is happy to be here to help us celebrate our fifteen glorious years together but most know that we will continue to enjoy our lives as we watch our children grow up, have families of their own and as we grow old together, loving each other from this life and into the next.  
   
“We have shared some incredible times together; our honeymoon in the Seychelles, the undertaking of setting up our new magazine, the birth of our children, Ben’s in particular where you helped me bring our son into the world as the midwife was caught up in traffic. The birthdays, Christmas’s, Thanksgiving’s that we’ve shared with our families. The trips in the yacht, camping with the Rossi’s, watching the fireworks above our heads, the stormy nights in bed with the children all cuddled up around us. You have made my life a whirlwind of happy moments and treasured events, tornado boy. Thank you for making my life complete, Daniel, I have never wanted for anything and I know that you will continue to do everything in your power to provide for me and our family. I love you Daniel Meade, with everything that I am. Please continue to make my happiness and I will make yours.”  
   
“I will,” he whispered, holding her hands in his. He looked at her with adoration, his feelings mirrored in the eyes of his wife.  
   
The celebrant took the reins once more, “Daniel and Betty have renewed their vows of love to one another and signified this by giving each other a ring, a symbol of their undying love. They have done this in the sight of you, their witnesses and ask that you continue your celebrations with them this evening as they toast their marriage as well as the sixth birthday of their son, Ben. Daniel you may now kiss your bride.”  
   
He couldn’t wait to get to her, his arms locking around her back and pulling her to him, his mouth seeking hers out and finding her wanting as he closed the gap and gave her one of the most passionate kisses he had ever given her. “I love you, Betty.” He rested his forehead against hers.  
   
“I love you too,” she whispered, sighing as his hands continued to caress her skin through the thin fabric of her dress. “How long do we have to wait?”  
   
“For what?” He asked, as he noticed the assembled guests filing out of the room and down towards the banqueting hall.  
   
“Until we’re finally alone? I’ve got this itch,” she teased.  
   
He smirked, “that you need me to scratch, huh? Honey it won’t be as long as last time. A couple of hours maybe. I want to make sure we’re safely tucked up in our suite before the fireworks go off again this year.”  
   
“And the children?”  
  
“Amanda’s having a sleep over for all of the kids, she’s going to take them upstairs a couple at a time so that they can all get the best out of the night.” He said, his hand brushing the long dark locks of her hair behind her ear, even though these days she needed a little help from Hilda to keep the few stray grey hairs at bay. He kissed her cheek, “at least it means we have the suite to ourselves tonight without the fear of being interrupted.”  
   
“Oh, I like the sound of that.” She said, as he took her hand and walked with her out of the room and down the corridor.  
   
“Good,” He grinned, “there is nothing I wouldn’t have done to make tonight perfect for you.”  
  
“Even though it now means we owe Amanda?” She asked.  
   
“Oh, that’s sorted out already. She wants us to be Godparents to the new baby.”  
   
Betty stopped walking, her eyes wide, “she’s pregnant?”  
   
Daniel nodded, “yep, the new advances in IVF have made it easier for them to conceive this time. Makes me think about how beautiful you were carrying our children.” He grazed a finger over her cheek.  
   
“No, Daniel. I know that look. We agreed that Ben was the last.”  
   
“But if it were to happen … say tonight, we got carried away and another baby Meade was created, would you really mind?”  
  
She shook her head, “Daniel, if by some miracle I fell pregnant with another one of your spawn,” she giggled, “I’d be thrilled to have another child with you. I love you, Daniel, and your insatiable appetite for me.”  
   
“Ain’t that the truth? Even after all of these years you’re still the most beautiful girl in the world and I can’t get enough of you. I love you too, Betty.” He held her tightly to him, their arms around each other’s waist as the doors to the banqueting hall were opened in front of them.  
   
“Please welcome Mr and Mrs Daniel Meade.” Cried the celebrant. They smiled at each other before walking into the room.  
   
And later that evening, in the privacy of their suite, they lay naked in each other’s arms, tangled up in the sheets of the plush King sized bed and revelling in their post coital bliss as they continued to lazily touch each other and kiss. They had been in a rush this time, their clothing scattered all over the floor apart from the thong that Daniel had lovingly placed on the nightstand in honour of the times that he had removed it before on many an occasion. He had also been pleased to see that it wasn’t the only tradition that Betty had also kept in place for tonight; the neatly pruned triangle behind the thong had been a pleasurable revelation.  
   
The short break from their lovemaking enabled them to watch the New Year’s fireworks explode above their heads, as they reflected on their life so far, both knowing that it would continue to be as jubilant and rewarding as it had been since they’d married all of those years earlier.  
   
Betty sighed delightedly, “are you ok?” Daniel asked her.  
   
She nodded her head. “Yes.” She sat up in front of him, his eyes wandering over her bouncing breasts before returning to her eyes. “Daniel?”  
   
She placed a hand over her abdomen, “yes?” he asked, his hand covering hers.  
   
“You know how I said that before every time I knew I was pregnant, I’d felt bubbles?”  
   
He smiled, “you felt bubbles?”  
   
She nodded, “obviously it’s going to be far too early to tell but you never know.”  
   
“Are you really sure about this, I mean another baby, we’re not getting any younger and you did say you’d divorce me first.”  
   
“You’re not getting any younger, I’m only forty two, remember?” She teased. “And I was in a lot of pain when I said I’d divorce you for that. I wouldn’t though.”  
  
“I know,” he chuckled, his hands lazily drawing circles over her skin.  
   
“I would say it’s probably our last chance if we wanted to do this though. And I do want to book you for the delivery; you did a wonderful job with Ben.”  
   
He smiled. “Thanks. And that’s what I was thinking when I forgot to use any protection earlier on.”  
  
“Forgot hey?” She placed a hand over his cheek, “well, you’re forgiven. Just keep on forgetting, tonight, tomorrow, the following night …”  
   
“I’m getting lucky then,” she smiled at his candid statement. “In fact, I have a confession.”  
   
“Oh yes?”  
  
“The rings, I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, wondering if you were up to the idea of having another baby.” He pulled her left hand into his, a finger tracing over the diamonds on her new wedding ring, “when I said that each one of these represented each person I hold dear to me, I meant that you were the platinum holding everything together.”  
   
Betty’s eyes grew wide, “Oh. Wow.” She managed, “the diamonds would be our children.”  
   
He nodded, “and the eternity ring has enough room to engrave the name of our fifth.”  
   
She leant in for a kiss, smiling the whole time. “Daniel, you are so impetuous sometimes, but God I love you. Why didn’t you just come out and ask me before?” She laughed, “I would’ve said yes. I can’t ever seem to say no to you anyway. And our children are wonderful most of the time; I’d love to have another one with you if it’s what you really want.”  
   
“Oh, Betty, how did I get to be so lucky to have you come into my life?”  
   
She smiled, “your dad.”  
   
“Sorry?” He asked, his eyebrows knitting together.  
   
“It was your dad. If he had never insisted upon me becoming your assistant, none of this would ever have happened. I think it was his way of showing you he loved you, by giving you someone that would help you out and look after you, just like she promised to.”  
   
“You promised him?”  
  
“It was his dying wish.”  
   
He gathered her into his arms, “thank you.”  
   
“My pleasure.” She kissed him, “so now I’m finally signed up to having another one of your babies, Meade, are you actually going to do something about it?” She pushed him back onto the bed and straddled his stomach.  
   
“Definitely, Betty. Before this night is through, I’m going to use every last move I know to make sure we end up going home with another baby Meade on board.”  
   
 _The End_


End file.
